The Madness
by Khaaaaaaan
Summary: Scarlett McMahon was getting over a bad breakup and had everyone encouraging her to be happy again. But with happiness also comes a bit of lunacy. (Dean Ambrose/OC)
1. The Madness

Alright, back with a new story. Just started watching wrestling again and well, Dean Ambrose is an interesting one, isn't he? I had a story about CM Punk that got away from me and I eventually just deleted it, but I'm using the same OC (Scarlett) from that story. Hope you guys enjoy The Madness!

Oh, a slight AN: I'm rating this story M not because of automatic sexy times (they will come), but because I curse like a sailor. Also, I just moved from Nashville and the bar I mention in this chapter is very real. It's a double wide trailer spray painted with Santa Claus graffiti that features some of the best karaoke you will ever see. Also some of the worst. If you're ever in Nashville, it is a must-go place.

*********khan*********

_April 18th, 2014, Nashville, TN- Bridgestone Arena_

Scarlett was sitting in the gorilla position, eyes carefully trained on the monitor in front of her. The first match of the night had just started and she motioned to one of her aides, who ran up to her side.

"Find AJ Lee and Nikki Bella. Their match starts in 15."

"Will do, Miss McMahon."

Her eyes rolled and she smirked at the guy, who had only been on the job for a few days, "Hey Travis."

"Yes ma'am?"

"It's Scarlett or Scar. Not Miss McMahon and certainly not ma'am. Please leave those for Stephanie and my mother. Got it?"

"Yes, Miss...Scarlett. Got it."

As he ran off, Scarlett just smiled. She'd had many PAs- production assistants-in her time as Head of Live Production, but she always had to teach them the important things:

1) She always called the wrestlers by their stage names, unless she was face to face with them. It just made things easier. Instead of calling someone by their real name and having the PA look at her in confusion.

2) She was nothing like her sister and mother, who would use any tactic to get what they wanted. Sure, she could've been in a much higher position in the company but that almost assuredly would've required her to be on tv and she simply didn't want that kind of celebrity. She wanted to be normal. Just a normal girl with a normal life who didn't lie and manipulate people to get what she wanted.

3) The reason she sat at the gorilla instead of in the production truck outside was to have a more direct relationship to her product. While Stephanie sat in her office dictating things to her aides to relate to the athletes, Scarlett would chat with them while they waited to go on.

She knew almost all of the WWE personnel and they all liked her. She was the nice, compassionate youngest daughter of Vince and Linda and the complete and total opposite of their other daughter. She was a workhouse and took pride in it, but outside the arenas, she was down-to-earth, ready to go out for a beer and engage in some serious rounds of darts and pool. She knew some of the wrestlers better than others just because some had been around longer. Her best friend was Brie Danielson. She'd met the girl and her sister Nikki right after they came up from FCW in 2008 and they'd been almost inseparable since then. She and Nikki had been co-maids of honor at her wedding to Bryan just a week ago. It was a beautiful day filled with family, friends and happiness. Well...almost.

Her ex, Phil Brooks, had been there. He'd quit the E back in January under mysterious circumstances. They weren't a mystery to Scarlett, however, but she'd finally gotten over him a few weeks back. She'd been moping over him and decided to go out and have herself a fling just to get it done with. Nothing cured a broken heart like good sex. And there was nobody better at meaningless sex in the WWE than Nick Nemeth. They were good friends and she knew if she could sleep with anyone and them not get hung up about it, it was Nick. He was her date to Brie's wedding and he'd been an excellent distraction from Phil and his girlfriend, who had just happened to step in front of her.

"Hey Scarlett, how's it going?"

Scarlett looked up and took her headset off, leaving one ear on just in case someone needed her. Oh, AJ and her did not get along and for one major reason. But Scarlett was, if anything, a professional and she wouldn't let the woman get a rise out of her.

"I'm fine. After your win, you need to stay in the ring and celebrate for a minute or so. We're going to commercial right after and we don't want the crowd getting too bored."

AJ's smile just grew. It was bugging the hell out of Scarlett.

"Will do. So, I saw you and Nick at the wedding. You two seemed awfully close."

"What Nick and I are or aren't is none of your business."

"Oh ok, I was just trying to make small talk."

"Well, I'm not very interested. Shouldn't you be focusing on your match?"

Seeing she wasn't going to get her desired reaction, AJ turned away just as Nikki was stepping up as well. The girls discussed last-minute details and when they were done, Nikki turned to Scarlett.

"Hey girl, how you doing?"

Seeing one of her close friends made Scarlett smile. A nice distraction from the girl twirling her hair not five feet away.

"I'm great, always busy. I don't think I got a chance to tell you how pretty you looked at the wedding. You and John were very...close."

"Yeah, he's amazing! You looked absolutely gorgeous too. I'm so glad Brie just went simple and let us wear black. I saw you with Nick, just dancing the night away. Anything I should know about?"

Nikki's eyebrow rose and Scarlett simply smirked.

"We are just friends and that's all it will ever be. You know as well as I do that Nick is not ready to settle down."

Nikki smiled, thankful.

"Good! I love Nick to pieces but yeah, he's not what you need. Still way too much of a boy and you, my dear, need a man. A man who'll take you out and show you a good time and then take you somewhere else...if you know what I mean."

Scarlett felt like she should scold her friend, but couldn't and just let out a good chuckle. Only Brie knew about her one night with Nick and she'd been sworn to secrecy, especially from her twin sister. Nikki was an infamous gossip and if she knew who was sleeping with who, then the whole company knew about it. So, since she hadn't heard anything about who Scarlett was bedding, she assumed there was no one and that was not Nikki's style. If you broke up with someone, get back on the horse, preferably with someone who was even better than the last one.

"It'll happen Nikki, don't worry. Just not rushing into anything. Now you need to go, it's almost time for your cue."

"Ok, chickie, but you're still going out with us later, right? You can ride with us if you want."

"Nah, I gotta stick around for a few to wrap things up but I'll meet you after. Can't wait!"

Nikki's music hit and she became a Bella. It was interesting to watch her go from the cool, sweet, fun girl to the outrageous, infuriating character she was on-screen. Scarlett just put her head back down and looked what was next on the schedule so she could send another PA out. Just as she was about to send someone after Randy Orton, Kane and Dean Ambrose, AJ ran back and straight to Janie, a hair and makeup assistant who did last-minute touch-ups on the talent.

"Oh my God, I almost forgot to take this off. I couldn't forgive myself if it got damaged. Can you hold onto it for me until the end of the match?"

"Sure, AJ, why's it so important?"

Scarlett's focus had come up because of all the ruckus and she had a sinking feeling in her stomach that was only confirmed when AJ turned to look at her, smiling brightly with a hint of nastiness in her eyes.

"It's my engagement ring. Phil gave it to me last week when he proposed. We're getting married! Ok, gotta get to my match. Thanks Janie!"

Janie, to her credit, had the grace not to smile. She turned wide-eyed to Scarlett and said absolutely nothing. She'd been stationed at the gorilla for about three months so she and Scarlett had gotten to know each other quite well. She never asked about her and Phil's relationship, but had heard through the quite loud company grapevine that it had ended very badly. But nobody knew why. Everyone wanted to know, however. It was still a hot topic of conversation especially since Phil had also left under mysterious circumstances. Everyone knew better than to ask Scarlett and the only person to ask Stephanie had been fired a week later for showing up 15 minutes late, something that almost everyone did at one point or another.

Scarlett was stunned, but was trying to not let everyone see. How could this be happening? She and Phil had been together for three years and it had been great, but there had never been any talk of marriage and that was just fine with her. As long as they were happy, what did a piece of paper matter? Apparently, a lot. Three months after telling everyone they were dating, Phil and AJ were getting married. What the fuck? Phil, who'd always told her he would have to live with someone for at least a year before hand, was getting married to...her. Her numbness gave way to a rage that she thought she'd gotten past. He knew that she and AJ still worked together and he couldn't have given her even the slightest heads up. Oh yeah, that's right, he'd have to have the balls to actually talk to her which he hadn't had since December. Fucking bastard.

Scarlett sat and stewed all through the girls' match. Just thinking of ways to get back at the two people who'd ruined her life. When she saw the match had ended, she'd settled on attacking AJ when she stepped back through the curtain. Just ripping her hair out and tearing her to pieces. When the woman finally did come back and got her ring, however, all the air deflated from Scarlett. What was the point? It would only give AJ, and probably Phil, the satisfaction of knowing she was still miserable after all this time. But she wasn't miserable, was she? Sure, maybe there was a part of her that would always be hurt, but she couldn't still be that sad and angry about it, right? Well, even if she maybe was, she wouldn't show it. She'd buck up and focus on the good things in her life: her friends, her job, hell, even her family who had shown her so much support back when the shit hit the fan. She let a small smile grace her features as she thought about it all and let out a deep breath to calm herself down. There, see, back to good. But there was still the matter of AJ standing right in front of her.

"Hey Scar, I didn't mean to blurt that out, but now that I did, I just want you to know our deciding to get married had nothing to do with you."

Scarlett couldn't believe the gall of this girl. Because she'd never gotten a rise out of Scarlett, she just kept sinking to lower and lower levels of nasty. But no more, it was time Scarlett put this little slut in her place. Taking off her headset fully and handing it to Travis with instructions to listen for anything urgent, she stood up to her full height, which was 5'9", a towering seven inches over her nemesis. Leaning slightly forward and hovering over the girl, she spoke in a crisp, even tone.

"April, I would hope that your engagement would have nothing to do with me. If it did, that would be pretty fucking pathetic and I'd only feel pity for you. Actually, that's what I feel for you now. Because you're stuck with a horrible man for a husband and I'm free as a bird with nothing but happy days in my future. Now, I know that you've been trying to get under my skin for months now and I've tolerated it because I'm a professional. But at this moment, I think you need to be reminded of something: I am a McMahon. Everyone knows I hate to use my name for anything, but right now, it's necessary. Because you seem to think you're untouchable, but just remember sweetheart, I'm a McMahon and you are just talent and talent can be replaced. Am I clear?"

AJ's eyes widened slightly and she shrank even further down. Simply nodding her head, she wisely didn't say a word.

"Good. Now, you're not on the schedule for the rest of the night or weekend, so I suggest you go take a shower, wash the stink off yourself and get home to that fiancé of yours. Wouldn't want someone to swoop in and steal him away, now would you?"

Leaning back up and taking her headset back, she sat back down calmly and just stared at AJ, dismissing her. The girl whisked away and Scarlett picked her schedule back up and looked around, a bright smile on her face.

"Alright, back to it. Where were we?"

Travis answered smartly, "The match between Kane/Orton and the Shield."

"Gotcha."

Looking at Glen and Randy, she smirked, "You guys all good?"

"Yep."

"Awesome! Just make sure to get out of the ring in good time after the cameras go off, I'll have Mike signal to you guys. We gotta set up for Christian's show after."

Glen smiled, "Sure thing, Little Star."

Glen was one of the nicest guys in the company. He'd known Scarlett since she was 10 and he scared the living daylights out of her when she'd accidentally bumped into him while running around backstage. Imagine being a four-foot tall skinny little girl and having to stare up at a seven-foot hulk of a man. Terrifying! But he'd bent down to her level, calmed her down and introduced himself in the kindest way. He'd even walked her back to Vince and Linda's office where she got a proper scolding for making a nuisance out of herself. Glen had simply said she wasn't a bother and went on his way. 18 years later, she still remembered that day and how nice he'd always been since then. Back in December, during the dark days after her breakup, Glen had seen her sitting in the gorilla all alone, in tears, just wallowing in her misery. He'd come up and sat beside her and handed her a Christmas present, even though it was still a week away. He gotten her a necklace with a little star on it- a reference to his nickname for her- and had enveloped her in a ginormous hug, just letting her get it all out and never asking what had happened. It was then that she knew she'd get through the worst of it if she just leaned on her friends and family for support.

As the boys went though the curtain for their match, Scarlett was by herself again or so she thought. It was just then that Amanda, another PA, ran up, saying Dean Ambrose would be there in just a minute. He was set to interfere on behalf of his Shieldmates, Rollins and Reigns. Asking why it took so long to find him, the PA smirked and said he was out back smoking and that had been the last place Amanda had looked.

Scarlett again rolled her eyes and just shook her head, telling Amanda that from now on, it's probably the first place she should go. Sure, she and a lot of others smoked too but during showtime, it was a no-no. Everyone had to be inside the building or better at hiding if they needed to go out. Just as she was looking back up, the man in question strided up.

"Hey Jon."

"Hey Scarlett," he said, a sly grin gracing his features, "Sorry she couldn't find me. I thought I had more time."

"Well, just be glad she did find you and you didn't miss your cue. Stephanie and Paul would've had your ass for being outside and then they would've had mine for the show being messed up. Don't let it happen again, ok?"

He gave her a lazy mock salute, "Yes ma'am."

Another eye roll and head shake, but this time it was accompanied with a light laugh.

"You're so childish."

Jon's grin never faded, "I know, but I think you like that about me. Hey, what are you doing later? Wanna go out for a drink with me?"

Her head whipped around from the paper in front of her.

"Uh...what...Jon, are you...are you asking me on a date?"

He sidled right up next to her and propped himself up on the case she was sitting on. Giving her a side glance and a devilish smirk, he dipped his head a little so he was staring her in the eye.

"Well, no, cause the boys," he pointed to the screen indicating Rollins and Reigns, "Are coming too. As are some of the girls. Some karaoke bar named Santa's. Thought you could join us and it'd be a good time. But if you wanted to go on a date with me, all you'd have to do is say so. Don't think I could turn you down."

She stared into his orbs of blue, crystalline in nature, and almost got a little lost. Fortunately, the music guys came into her ear, asking which music they were using for another divas match later on. She came out of her trance, slightly flustered, and swiftly answered them. Recovering herself and looking back at Jon slowly, she quirked a smile.

"I was already going to be there actually. Nikki invited me yesterday when she planned it."

Jon stood back up, shoulders resuming their natural hunch, "Well, that's a damn shame. Thought for a second you could get me out of going to a damn karaoke bar."

"Oh no, Mr. Good, I never turn down awesome karaoke, not even for a free meal."

He let out a loud guffaw, "Who said I was paying? You're asking me, remember? The asker pays, not the asked."

"Oh but you're a gentleman. Surely, you wouldn't accept a lady paying your way."

He stepped in front of her and placed both hands on the case on either side of her hips, boxing her in. Leaning forward slightly, the same way she had done to AJ, he kept going til his mouth was right next to her ear.

"Oh darlin,' I am most certainly not a gentleman and if you want to see why, again all you'd have to do is ask. Now, I gotta go. Time for me to go kick some ass."

Leaning up and kissing her cheek, he turned and walked through the curtain, leaving her flabbergasted and wondering how he knew it was the perfect time for him to run out. She watched him on the monitor, watching him transform into the demented lunatic that people loved. There was a heat in her body that hadn't been there before he walked up and she knew exactly what had caused it. The gentle caress of his words was in heavy juxtaposition to the wild man who caused chaos and destruction every week in the ring. She watched his body and knew that if Nikki had just seen their exchange, she'd be encouraging her friend to "get on it," a favorite phrase of hers. Thinking of her friend, Scarlett smiled and was grateful she'd set up this little night out for everyone. It be a interesting one, especially with the now guaranteed bit of sexual tension sure to be present between her and Jon. She smiled in anticipation and shook her head at her silliness. He was just a man, after all.

_A hot, sexy specimen of a man._

She laughed at her subconscious and went on with the show, effectively forgetting for a few hours about what lay before her later on.

*********khan*********

Alright, that's it for chapter one. Hope you all are intrigued and ready for some more. Sorry, I know Punk and AJ are popular and I didn't want to make them the bad guys, but it works for my story. Sorry! Now, if you could do all the necessary clicking down below (follow, favorite and review), I'd be the happiest of little campers. Thanks!


	2. Hell on Heels

Wow, so many faves and follows and reviews...oh my! Many, many thanks to the **TheLovelyCanche** and **angeldees327** (aka the best reviewer ever. Girl! I knew you'd be back for more!) and the guests. I went ahead and wrote chapter 2 last night and as a present for you lovelies, here it is!

Are you guys ready for some sweet, sweet karaoke?! LET'S GO!

*********khan*********

_I'm hell on heels, baby I'm comin' for you!_  
>-The Pistol Annies, <em>Hell on Heels<em>

_April 18th, 2014- Nashville, TN_

Scarlett stopped as soon as she exited the arena later on that night. God, she needed a cigarette. Pulling out a menthol and lighting it quickly, she took a huge drag before sharply turning when she heard someone chuckling behind her.

"If you smoke them that fast, kinda takes the enjoyment out of the whole process."

Scarlett exhaled the smoke and quirked her lips into a smile, "Oh, are you going to teach me how to properly smoke, Jon?"

The man who most people called a lunatic simply smiled at her and walked to her side.

"Nah," he paused, "Could show you plenty of other things, though?"

She blew out her next drag in a huff of laughter.

"Yeah I'm sure. Hey, aren't you supposed to be at the bar with the others already? Or are you still trying to get out of it?"

"Nah, figured I'd go and get a kick out of everybody making fools of themselves. Colby especially. That boy is always embarrassing himself."

She couldn't help but agree. Anytime she and some of the others went out for karaoke, Colby was always there. He loved it almost as much as she did.

"So why aren't you there?"

"Told Nikki I'd stay and make sure you got there safe and sound," he replied, a devilish grin on his face. She was sure that if she wanted to, he'd agree to go wherever and do whatever she wanted him to.

"See, there you go again, being a gentleman."

He finished his cigarette and stepped in front of her, pulling her own cigarette from her mouth and taking the last hit off it, smirking at her the entire time. She was slightly pissed off...and incredibly turned on. When had that happened? Before tonight, she'd never given him a second thought. Sure, he was hot and all, but when she thought of all the guys in the company, he wasn't at the top of any of her lists. But right now, hell she didn't know if she could control herself. There was an air about him that she didn't know how to describe, but if she was pushed for a word, then...dangerous. The man in front of her felt all kinds of dangerous, but in the best way possible. When he finished stamping the cigarette out with his boot, he stepped up to her, gently pushing her back until she hit the concrete wall with a suddenness that scared her slightly. He brought his hands to her hips and pulled them flush against his, forcing her chest into his as well. Their faces were just millimeters apart, their noses practically touching. His eyes had captured hers and she couldn't have forced herself to look away if she wanted to. His whispered words felt like silk wrapping themselves around her.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not a gentleman?"

He leaned in and just as their lips made contact, the door to the garage slammed open. A couple of the music techs were wheeling equipment out to the trucks. Scarlett jumped out of Jon's grasp as they looked over to her and nodded their hellos. She nodded back and wished them a goodnight. Feeling an arm come around her shoulders, she looked to see Jon staring at her, grin ever-present.

"Whew, that was a close one."

She rolled her eyes and sighed loudly.

"Come on, let's just go. You're incorrigible."

"What's that mean?"

"Means that I'm going to pretend it didn't happen and just get on with it cause if I got all flustered, you'd enjoy it way too much."

Jon stopped and seemed to think this over, "Yep, you're probably right."

Scarlett laughed at his expression, "Come on, we need to join the others. Can't wait for your night of misery to begin."

"Ahh, you just had to remind me where we're going, didn't you?"

"You betcha. It's going to be great to watch you all night."

"Oh, so you're going to be looking at me the whole time? We could just skip the bar and go back to the hotel then."

Open mouth, insert foot, Scarlett thought.

"Let's just go, weirdo."

When they arrived at Santa's Pub, the bar was in full swing with Colby and Layla wailing that old-time karaoke standard, "Bennie and the Jets." Jon's eyes immediately went sky high, his stress level rising immediately. Walking over to the large table where their coworkers sat, they took the two seats that had been saved for them. They were conveniently wedged right next to each other. Scarlett discovered that if the two of them wanted to sit comfortably, his arm had to be around the back of her chair and she had to lean into him slightly. He thought all of this was hilarious, of course. Nikki bought them some beer which Jon protested slightly. Nikki hushed him quickly.

"Jon, all the beer here is $2 so don't think I'm spending a fortune!"

"Really? Only $2?"

"Yep, now drink in the cheapness and have a good time."

They settled in just as Rosa and Eva got up to do "The Boy is Mine" by Brandy and Monica. Scarlett was having a good ol' time singing along and Jon really took the time to look at her. Sure, he'd never hit on her the way he had tonight. To be honest, he was just having some fun and trying to liven her up a bit. He'd had a crush on her ever since he'd entered the WWE but she'd been with Punk until just a few months ago. Every show he'd hope that there'd be some reason he'd have to go through the gorilla just so he could talk to her for a bit. She was gorgeous with big green eyes and luscious brown hair. Now that he was really looking at it, he could tell that was an auburn hew to it but only if directly lit up by a hard light. Her pale skin was flawless and he knew she didn't have that much makeup on. When he'd heard about her and Punk breaking up, he had wanted to ask her on a date right then and there, but when he had walked up the gorilla to do it, he saw her wrapped in Glen's arms, crying her soul out. Not wanting to be a dick, he'd snuck away as quietly as possible but had kept an eye on her as the weeks and months passed. He had seen the transformation from the insecure, weeping girl back to the strong, confident, laughing woman who she used to be.

Sometimes though, he felt she was just putting on a front. If he watched her closely enough- he didn't care if anyone thought it was weird-, he'd see the fragility that was still there. He wanted to be the one to fully restore her confidence. He wanted her to see that she had nothing to be ashamed of. He wanted her to see how he saw her: a smart, beautiful woman who deserved the best. And only the best. That's why when he had heard about her and AJ's little spat while he was walking to the gorilla, he'd decided to start working his way in. He didn't care how long it took, he'd make her his and show her how a man was really supposed to treat a woman: like a queen.

Her name was called and she got up and brought the house down with Roxanne by the Police. She could sing, he had to give her that. Her eyes would sometimes flicker to his and she's let out a small smile that he just knew was meant for him and him only. Maybe she was slowly letting her guard down. Maybe she was enjoying his "misery," even though while she was up there, he wasn't miserable at all. Whatever it was, he didn't care.

When she came back to loud applause, he let her sit back down and put his arm back around her chair. After she'd taken a long sip of her beer and finished it, he brought his hand to her shoulder and kissed her cheek.

"You were great up there."

Her eyes found his and she whispered her thanks. She didn't shrug off his hand, just letting it rest there comfortably. When Colby got up to get more beer, Jon handed him a $10, saying to get ones for him, Scarlett and Nikki, paying her back for the one earlier. When the younger boy brought them back, Jon handed one to Scarlett and she smirked again, whispering in his ear.

"Gentleman."

He rolled his eyes and looked directly at her, giving her an amused look. When her eyes shifted behind him and got wide, he turned around to see what had caught her attention. What he saw was not good. AJ, Paige and Alicia walked in, sneering their way through the joint. When they stopped in front of Nikki, she wasn't having any of it.

"Sorry guys, but we only got enough seats for us, ya know, the people who were invited. But uh, there's some standing room way over there."

She pointed to the very back of the bar, where you couldn't see anything except a lonely dart board that nobody ever used. When they walked away, Scarlett leaned forward and gave her friend a hug, whispering something that Jon could not hear. When she sat back down, his hand came back to her shoulder and she looked at him, smiling quickly and nodding, letting him know she was ok. Just then, she and Nikki were called to the stage and he had a feeling he was in for a show. When the words Hell on Heels came on the screen, he smiled. He knew this song because Colby loved it and would turn it up if it ever came on in the car. Hell, even Joe, who the world knew as the hulking, ferocious Roman Reigns, loved that song and would sing along. Jon would usually sit in the back seat and laugh his ass off at the two grown men in front of him. He wasn't laughing now, however, as the two gorgeous women in stilettos joined their voices to create one of the sexiest harmonies he had ever heard. They were amazing. So amazing he even joined in on the clapping part, which he never, ever did. When they got to the last chorus, Scarlett's eyes trained on him for the last two lines and he felt himself harden.

_I'm hell on heels._  
><em>Sugar daddy, I'm coming for you.<em>

They finished to raucous applause from the packed double-wide and the girls sauntered back over to the table, basking in the adoration. They both had wide smiles as they picked up their beers, cheers and took long swigs. With Joe going up to get more beer, Scarlett tried to give him money to get more for everybody but he just waved her off. Jon noticed she was a little wobbly, but didn't think anything of it. This was the most fun he'd seen her have in a long time and he wasn't going to ruin it.

"Will no one let me buy them alcohol?"

Going to sit back down, she ended up in Jon's lap instead of her seat. His hands immediately went to her hips and adjusted her so she wasn't sitting directly on his strained erection, but he didn't make any movement to remove her. She turned, putting her hand on the base of his neck and rubbing softly. He knew it had to be the alcohol since she'd slammed down at least four or five beers already, but he just didn't care in the slightest at the moment.

"Jon, why won't anybody let me buy them beer?"

He looked at her with a wide smile, amused by her hopelessness. Leaning up, he whispered in her ear.

"Just enjoy it, darlin. There'll always be a next time."

She hummed contentedly, "Okay."

She didn't move from his lap and he didn't mind. He noticed Colby looking at him with raised eyebrows at one point and then Nikki did the same. He shrugged his shoulders in reply and neither said a word. Nikki had a small smile on her lips that he didn't want to know the reason behind.

Scarlett said something about being tired about an hour later, but wanted to stick around to do her last song. When he asked what it was, she just shook her head and said it was a surprise. Her name was finally called and she walked up, a little giddy about whatever she was doing. On the way, she passed an elderly man, who had to be at least 70, wearing a Stetson. She leaned down, whispering in his ear, and after a really sweet smile, he handed over his hat to her. Plopping it on her head and adjusting just so, she stood on the stage, head down but you could see an excitement coursing through her. Jon looked to the screen, buzzing to see the name of the song.

Man, I Feel Like a Woman.

Nikki and Colby couldn't have been more excited. The Bella twin turned around and looked at everyone else, glee on her face.

"Oh man, are you guys ready for this? You ain't ready!"

When the opening twangs hit the speakers, she stayed still, popping her head up at the very last second.

_Let's go girls!_

The entire song he saw a completely different Scarlett. This was what he had meant earlier about her putting on a front for the last couple of months. When she was at the E, sure, she acted like she was fine, but there was something lacking. This girl, however, this was the one he wanted to be with. She was twirling her hips, playing to the crowd and working that stage for everything it was worth. But the time she got to the last chorus, she had the whole crowd singing along and watching her with rapt attention.

_The best thing about being a woman_  
><em>Is the prerogative to have a little fun.<em>  
><em>Fun! Fun!<em>  
><em>Oh oh oh, go totally crazy, forget I'm a lady,<em>  
><em>Men's shirts! Short skirts!<em>  
><em>Oh oh oh, really go wild, yeah, I'm doin' it in style,<em>  
><em>Oh oh oh, get in the action, feel the attraction,<em>  
><em>Color my hair! Do what I dare!<em>  
><em>Oh oh oh, I wanna be free, yeah, to feel the way I feel<em>  
><em>And man, I feel like a woman!<em>  
><em>I get totally crazy, can you feel it?<em>  
><em>Come, come, come on baby<em>  
><em>I feel like a woman!<em>

When she finished, the room went absolutely nuts. She went back over to elderly guy, did a cute little bow, and handed him back his hat, thanking him with the biggest smile on her face. Coming back over, she sat back down on his lap, chugging the rest of her beer. When she peered down at him, grinning like a fool, he couldn't help himself. Grabbing the side of her face, he gently brought her down until his lips met hers. It wasn't hard or wild or even desperate, but instead, sweet and slow and definitely returned. When she pulled back after a few moments, he could see the war in her eyes, lust and weariness. Leaning down to his ear, she spoke so only he could hear.

"Could you take me to the hotel and stay with me and us not have sex?"

He internally grinned at her question. He knew she was no innocent but he also knew she was going to have a very hard time trusting anything any man said to her. She felt an attraction to him but didn't want to jump into anything prematurely, especially when her head was swimming with alcohol. He nodded and they got up, ignoring Joe and Colby's pleas to stay and keep the party going. Jon leaned over to Nikki, telling her he was driving Scarlett home. Nikki smirked in her own devilish way.

"Be good!"

Now it was Jon's turn to smirk.

"Always am. That's my name, after all."

Just as he was turning back, he felt her small hand grab his wrist and pull him back.

"I'm serious, Jon, be good to her."

His smirk dropped instantly.

"I promise, Nik, I promise."

The twin released him with a smile and stood up to hug her friend, telling her she'd call in the morning. He and Scarlett walked out into the crisp night air and he gave her his leather jacket to keep her warm. She pulled it around her with a small thank you. When they arrived back at the hotel, he got her back to her room first, giving her aspirin and telling her to change into her sleep clothes. Going back to his room to get his clothes for the next day and some more aspirin, he got back to her room in record time. Just not fast enough. When he slipped back in, he was pleased to see she was indeed changed, but only into an oversized t-shirt that barely covered her ass. She was laying down facing the back wall and as he walked up, sure enough, she was fast asleep. He contemplated just turning around and going back to his room, but she had asked to him to stay and it wasn't like he was asshole who was going to try something while she was asleep. So he changed quickly and flipped the covers back, tucking her in. He got in on the other side and then a real dilemma did hit. Did he keep his distance or did he hold her? Oh who was he kidding? He got to the middle of the bed and pulled her back flush against him. He slid one arm under her head and the other around her stomach, pausing for a moment to take a deep breath next to her hair. Even though she'd been in a smoky bar all night, she still smelled like vanilla and peaches. Damn, he could get used to this. Especially when she shifted even further into him, one hand resting on his forearm and the other entwining her fingers with his. He was real glad he hadn't kept his distance now.

After all, he couldn't be a gentleman all the time.

*********khan*********

Aw such a sweet ending, am I right? By the way, I have done all five of the songs mentioned at Santa's Pub, by myself or in groups. Totally so much fun! And their beer really is $2. So, seriously, if you're in Nashville, go there. Karaoke seven days a week! Paradise!

One thing I noticed while rereading this chapter was that I make Seth Rollins sound a little gay. Hahaha totally didn't mean it. Just came naturally I guess!

Anyways, hope you're enjoying and now if you'll do the Three Moves of Doom (favorite, follow, review), I'd be eternally grateful. And I was planning on going shopping today, but since the sky just opened up and it is now a rainy day in Pittsburgh, you guys might just get a another chapter later on tonight. XOXO


	3. Wicked Games

So, this story's only been up for a little over a day and I'm getting so much love for it! Yay! A huge, huge thanks to **HisMnkyPrincess, dreamin'BIG** and the ever-lovely **angelsdee327** (haha, no need for any hunting parties!). You guys are the absolute best!

This chapter almost didn't get done today! I was too busy reading an amazing story called **Shielded **by **nattiebroskette**. If you guys aren't already on that one, do it! Now!

And to any of y'all who think I'm just an amazingly fast updater, I will warn you that I start back to work on monday after this 11-day vacay I've been on. So, the updates will be more spread out but I'm trying to get as much to you before. Cause this story's got a hold of me real good! Anyways, enjoy more of The Madness!

*********khan*********

_April 21st, 2014- Baltimore, Maryland_

Scarlett was rushing around getting ready for Raw. It was 45 minutes to showtime and she still didn't have a script for the show. Running to Stephanie's office, she knocked twice and let herself in. Her sister looked up in annoyance at being interrupted from an email she was responding to.

"Yes?"

"Steph, are you guys done with the script yet? Don't have one and it's getting close to curtain."

Stephanie rolled her eyes- a trait the sisters shared-and gave Scarlett hers, which was sitting on the desk.

"Here. Why didn't you have one of your assistants go get one? That is what they're there for."

"You know me, I like to do things myself. Anything major I should know about?"

"Um, about the show, no. Just the normal stuff. I do have to tell you something else though."

"Yes?"

"You might want to sit."

Scarlett smirked and did as her sister asked, "Oh fuck me, what's going on?"

"Phil called Dad and requested a meeting next week. Since Mom and Dad were flying in for Raw anyway, Dad said ok so Phil's going to be here."

Stephanie hunched further and further back into her seat, expecting Scarlett to blow up at any second. But to her sister's credit, she simply stared straight ahead, no emotion whatsoever on her face. Scarlett took a very deep breath and looked back to her sister.

"Do you know what the meeting's about?"

"I can only assume he might want back in."

"Are you guys going to let him?"

"Well, I would hope Dad would let you decide that, but he can't just ignore the man. When he was here, Phil was one of our most popular guys for years and his merchandise sales were on par with Cena. And you hear the crowd chanting for him every week. When he quit, that threw a serious kink into our plans."

Scarlett let out a bitter laugh, "And you guys need him back. Is that what you're telling me?"

"No, we don't need him but it would make a lot of fans happy. You've heard the rumors. A lot of people are saying it was us who pushed him out and he hasn't denied it so most everyone thinks it's true."

"So, either I let him back in and be around the jerk who broke my heart all the time or I say no and let all our fans down. Great..."

"I'm sorry, sis, but when all that ugliness went down a few months ago, it started a snowball effect and it's gotten us to here. If that's what this meeting with him is about, it's going to be all on you and I hate to say this, but Dad is probably going to want you to get over the anger and deal with it."

Scarlett smirked and was silent for a few minutes. Stephanie would've let her sister sit there but it was close to showtime.

"Scar, you need to be getting back."

It shook Scarlett out of her thoughts and she simply nodded. Getting up to leave, she paused right before opening the door. Not looking directly at Stephanie, just turning her head slightly, she whispered.

"You heard about him and AJ, right?"

Stephanie grimaced. She'd heard all about it when AJ came and asked for a week off sometime in June. She'd also got wind of her sister's little argument with the Diva on friday.

"Yeah. Sorry about that, sis."

Scarlett gripped the handle and opened the door.

"Yeah me too."

Making her way back to the gorilla, Scarlett was so lost in her thoughts that she'd completely forgotten to grab the script off Stephanie's desk where she'd laid it down. Thankfully, Travis ran up with one from creative so Scarlett didn't have to go all the way back. Gathering the PAs around for a pre-show chat, she ran down who would be running errands, gathering superstars and who would be her other set of ears on the spare headset. Just as she was about to send Travis running off to give her brother-in-law and sister their 10-minute warning, she stopped talking suddenly. She finally noticed her people were giving her weird looks and shuffling uncomfortably.

"What? Is there something on my face?"

Amanda spoke up softly, "No, but you just seem really mad. Did we do something?"

Scarlett paused and took a deep breath. Stephanie's news had obviously bothered her a little more than she thought and she was taking it out on them, which wasn't fair.

"Sorry guys, just a little stressed. Bear with me tonight, please, and I'll apologize in advance cause I might be a little snappy. But it has nothing to do with you. You guys are wonderful and I couldn't do my job without you."

Their smiles showed her that they were ok and so she quickly delegated all the items for the opening and propped herself on her case, ready to get on with the show. Surely, it would push everything else out of her mind.

It worked for the first hour or so. Stephanie and Paul did their bit to perfection, announcing matches for later that night. Scarlett was so busy talking to the music guys and prepping the athletes that she didn't really focus on anything until she gave the cue for The Shield's music and heard it radiate through the building.

_Sierra. Hotel. India. Echo. Lima. Delta. SHIELD._

Flicking her eyes up to the screen, she saw the camera focus on the three men coming down the steps in the crowd. Colby led the way with Joe not far behind. She smiled at the intimidating looks they gave to the crowd. If anyone knew that only three days ago, Colby was singing Brick House and then the whole gang had gotten up at the end of the night and done Friends in Low Places. This was after she had left with Jon but there was video. They'd even dragged Joe, who never sang, up on stage and he looked like he was having the time of his life with the mic right in front of his face. Scarlett knew that he'd most likely had a lot more alcohol than he usually drank. He must've been wasted, in fact, to get a man so shy on a karaoke stage. She almost wished she hadn't gotten so drunk so she and Jon could've stayed and seen it with their own eyes.

Speaking of, she watched the blonde man bring up the rear and she felt a blush creep up her neck. When she'd woken up the next morning, she'd been alone but on the nightstand, there was a note propped against a glass of water and an aspirin bottle.

_Good morning darlin,_

_Have to get in the car to go to the next city. Was gonna wake you, but you looked so peaceful and beautiful so I set your alarm so you won't wake up too late. I had a damn good time last night and, just in case your memory's a little foggy, nothing happened. But I'll let you in on a little secret: I wanted you. So damn bad. But I was a good boy. NOT A GENTLEMAN! Gentlemen don't have the thoughts that I did last night and this morning. Anyways, I'll see you on monday, but just know, I'll be thinking about you all weekend._

_Jon_

_PS If you can open your eyes and not throw up, take two. If you do hurl, might wanna make it three or four._

She smirked thinking about the note, which was still tucked into her bag in the girl's locker room. Still staring at the screen, she felt a slight tingling in between her legs. Good lord, she thought, laughing internally, this boy was creeping under her skin. Not that she didn't like it. He was fun and made her smile. He didn't know this, and didn't need to know, but she'd woken up slightly when he'd gotten into bed with her. She'd felt his arms wrap around her and, for the first time in a very, very long while, she'd felt secure and safe. When she'd woken up and he hadn't been there, she'd sworn at first that it was all a dream. Until she saw the note.

When she saw their match ending and they were making their way toward her, a nervousness overcame her and she busied herself looking over the next part of the script, even though she already knew it by heart. Joe and Colby came through first, saying hello. She looked at them with a smile, asking about their weekends. The house shows had gone off without a hitch, they said, and she told them how much fun she'd had at karaoke. When she told Joe she was impressed by his singing ability, a blush came over the big Samoan.

"Man, I was so drunk."

She laughed, "Yeah, that's what I thought, but you did great. We'll have to get you up there again eventually."

His eyes widened and Colby laughed, saying they'd probably have to blackmail him with something.

"Well, I'm never going to have to do that with you, right, Brick House?"

The smile dropped from his face and he was just about to protest when she held up her hands.

"Sorry, just one of my favorite things about that night. You were sure shakin' it!"

"What can I say? I shake what my momma gave me," Colby said, sending all three of them into fits of laughter. They said their goodbyes and she shook her head, chuckling slightly.

"What were your other favorite things about that night?"

Her head whipped around to see the man who invaded her thoughts all weekend standing there, just watching her.

_Calm down, Scarlett, you are a grown-ass woman. You've flirted before._

"Oh I don't know, there might have been some other things."

He came up to her side, leaning with one elbow on the case so they were more eye-level. He could see the nervousness in her eyes but the rest of her face was composed, a sly grin curling her mouth. Did he continue their game or calm her nerves? He sighed as he chose the latter.

"Did you feel ok the next morning?"

She smiled genuinely, then, "Yes, thanks for taking care of me. And for your info, only had to take two."

A smile overtook his face as well and her heart swelled a little. When he wasn't keeping up his front as a cocky, lunatic SOB, he looked so boyish and cute. She wanted to pull him a little closer and run her fingers through his hair. She didn't of course- they were at work and that was way too intimate- but her hands itched at the thought. His eyes, those blue orbs that she could just fall into, were smiling as well and he just looked...happy. She didn't know if she was to blame for that, but it was a nice thought. His voice snapped her attention back.

"Well good, don't like to think of you retching into a toilet. Even though, now that I just said that..."

"Yeah, good job. That mental image will stick with you forever."

"Whatever," he looked at her, "Did you have a good weekend off?"

"Yeah, just a real lazy time at my house. Cleaned a bit, but mostly vegged out and watched tv."

"Where do you live again?"

"Well, I was in Chicago for a while...um, but I've been back in Connecticut for a few months. Just wanted to be a little closer to home and the family. Spend more time with my parents and Stephanie's girls."

He noticed her slight pause and cursed Phil Brooks in his head. It was obvious that, with the exception of her job where there were enough problems still, Scarlett had changed her entire life after their breakup. She'd probably had a great life in Chicago, with tons of friends and favorite hangouts and a level of supreme comfort. Damn that bastard. Jon would punch him in the face the next time he saw him, if he ever did.

"You planning on staying there?"

She smiled at his genuine interest in her, "Probably not. I love going home but it's not really where I belong. A little too clean-cut for me."

"Aw, polo shirts and pressed slacks not a part of your wardrobe anymore?"

She swatted him in the stomach lightly, chuckling at his jab about her hometown.

"Kinda. I can still fit in, but people see the tattoos and kinda turn up their noses a little. Until they find out who I am, of course."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure the McMahon name gets you far."

"If you enjoy that sort of thing, yeah."

"Which if I had to take a good look at you..."

And he did, unabashedly eyeing her from head to toe and back up again, stopping when he got to her breasts. She was giggling slightly, which made her chest shake a bit and he just couldn't help himself. Only when she tipped her head back up with her finger did he smile apologetically.

"I'd say you probably belong somewhere else. You know what? I know the perfect place. Vegas!"

Her eyed widened and her smirk just got bigger. Putting the finger that had just been on his chin on hers instead, she pretended to think real hard.

"Hmm, let me guess...that's where you live?"

He shrugged, "Maybe."

She giggled, "I think it'd be a very bad idea to live near you."

"And why is that?"

She leaned down to whisper in his ear, "Because you're dangerous."

She went to lean back but his hand grabbed the back of her neck and held her in place, his mouth very close to her ear so only she could hear his words.

"Glad you're finally realizing that, sweetheart. But just remember, you're on the road with me for over 250 days a year so really, how could you living in Vegas make it anymore dangerous? Afraid you'd be under me and writhing in pleasure sooner rather than later?"

She couldn't lie, she was so unbelievably turned on that when he stood up and walked away, she was stuck in the same position for a good 30 seconds. Janie was finishing up a little makeup on one of the Divas and cleared her throat loudly to shake Scarlett out of her head. The youngest McMahon's eyes flicked to hers and Janie just smiled and did a fanning motion on herself. Walking over and taking Jon's spot next to the case, she spoke to the bewildered girl.

"I couldn't even hear what he was saying at the end, but damn girl, your face says it all. There is some serious heat going on here! So when do you plan to jump him?"

Scarlett rolled her eyes and picked her script back up, "Oh, I'm not going to. Jon just likes to push my buttons is all."

"Girl, he'd like to push some buttons all right and I think you should let him."

"Janie!"

"What? Come on, Scarlett, you need to get back into the swing of things. If what you said to AJ the other day is at all true, then you're over Phil and you need someone new. I'm not saying you have to fall back into a full-fledged relationship, but find someone who's not awful and just go on some dates. Have some fun! And Jon is not a bad guy. Sure, he's a little off but you like them that way. I'd bet on it. You just said that clean-cut is not for you and I don't think you meant just clothing. You like your men with a little dirt on them."

Scarlett had to smile at her frank and rather truthful assessment.

"Janie, have I told you I really like having you up here? If they ever try to replace you, I'm putting a stop to it immediately. Unless they're promoting you, of course. And then I'll just be sad."

The girls laughed together and went back to work, Scarlett seriously contemplating her friend's words.

A little while later, Raw was done and everything had gone to perfection. Scarlett exited the building and immediately pulled out a celebratory menthol. Lighting up and walking to her car, she stopped immediately and rolled her eyes when she saw who was leaning against her car. He just couldn't get enough. As she resumed her slow and steady pace, she took him in fully. He was wearing black jeans with rips in the knees that she was pretty sure were the responsibility of the man and not the manufacturer. His black wife-beater was stretched tight over his defined muscles and his customary leather jacket completed the look perfectly. Yep, she thought, sinfully dangerous. Gotta keep your head straight, Scar. He smirked down at her as she came to a stop in front of him.

"Can I help you, Mr. Good?"

"Well, yes Miss McMahon, you certainly can. You see, I seem to have run out of cigarettes and the only other person who seems to smoke menthols in the entire company is you."

"So, you've been out here for god knows how long, looking like a creeper, because you wanted to bum a cig?"

His eyes were so full of mischief, "Yes."

Oh, he wanted to play that game, did he?

"And it didn't have anything to do with me? I'm sure somebody else has menthols."

"Not anybody I know."

She pulled her pack back out and gave him one. She was pulling her lighter out as well when he wiggled his between his fingers, smirking at her. She took the last pull of her own and stamped it out.

"Well, if that's all you needed, I'm gonna go. You know where your car's at, right?"

"Actually, Joe and Colby already took it to go back to the hotel."

"Oh well," she met his eyes with a mock grimace, "Better call a cab then."

Stepping around to the driver's side, she got in while he grinned at her, chuckling softly. Yeah babe, she thought, I can play too. He gave her a mock salute when she started the car and pulled slowly out. Looking back in the side mirror, she could see him still laughing and shaking his head, probably wondering how the girl had gotten one over on him. She couldn't help it, he looked like a cute little puppy. Stopping the car after about 20 feet, she hopped out and leaned against the open door.

"Hey!"

He spun around and a smile lit up his face, making it boyish again.

"You wanna go get a drink. I know a little dive bar close to here."

"Scarlett, you asking me out on a date?"

"Sure, as long as you know you're not getting laid at the end of it."

He burst out laughing and ran up as she unlocked the passenger side of her rental SUV.

"This should be fun!"

*********khan*********

Guess what's coming next chapter? Hehehehehehehe, only I truly know! So I did decide to soften Stephanie up a little. I made her sound like an obnoxious bitch in the first chapter and decided it would be better if she was a bitch, but sympathetic to her sister's problems. Seems more appropriate, I guess. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed and I'll try my darnedest to get the next one or two up tomorrow. Good night! XOXO


	4. First Day of My Life

Alright, finally got this chapter out. It started as one thing and the more I got writing, it turned into something completely different, which I'm happy with. I'll explain more at the end.

Oh, you might have noticed that all the names for the chapters (except the first) are song titles and each one kind of represents the mood of the chapter. The song for this one is First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes.

Want to give a huge hug and kiss to the following:**  
><strong>

**HisMnkyPrincess**- You know he can never stay too good for very long!  
><strong>Nattiebroskette<strong>- There'll definitely be more and more back and forth, but it's going to get a little more serious...ifyaknowwhatImean.  
><strong>dreamin'BIG<strong>- I'm so happy you love Scarlett! I love you puns!  
><strong>angelsdee327<strong>- You always leave the best and longest reviews! Glad the thought of Colby shaking his moneymaker makes you as happy as it made me. Unfortunately, the biotches will be making more appearances in this lovely tale o' mine and not all of them will be dealt with so swiftly, but trust me. KHAAAAAAAAAN!

*********khan*********

_April 21st, 2014- Baltimore, Maryland_

They made their way from the arena in high spirits. Scarlett had one of her favorite Linda Ronstadt albums in and was crooning softly and Jon was happy to listen. When they pulled up to the bar, he had to laugh at the ironic name: Bad Decisions. Her lips quirked as well.

"Appropriate, right?"

He laughed back at her, "Oh yeah."

They walked in to the sounds of Hank Williams Jr. on the speakers and stopped at the bar to get drinks. The barkeep quickly got his beer and her whiskey ginger. Scarlett pulled out her card to start a tab but was quickly swatted away when Jon pulled out a ten and gave it to the man. Scarlett couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"I thought the asker paid, not the asked."

Jon just grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, slinging his arm over her shoulders.

"A lady never pays my way."

"But if I'm a lady, then that means you're a..."

His mouth descended onto hers. He couldn't let her finish that sentence, couldn't hear that word one more time. He kissed her with a passion so that she'd forget her trail of thought. After the momentary shock wore off, he felt her apply pressure to his own lips. Why? He didn't care. Not wanting to push things too far, however, he pulled back and slowly opened his eyes, as did she. He could barely hear her whispered words over the rowdy music.

"Why'd you do that?"

"Cause I wanted to, darlin. Told you I had bad thoughts."

The blush that rose on her cheeks almost made him whoop in delight. Pulling her along with him, he directed her to a table in the back and they sat, Scarlett making sure to be directly across from him. If she couldn't control her reactions, then she needed as much distance as possible. He's dangerous, she reminded herself.

"Scarlett...Scarlett...oh, Scarlett..."

"Huh?" She shook herself out of her thoughts, smiling lightly at him, "Sorry, was in my head."

"You find me that boring?"

His puppy eyes got her, "Aw, absolutely not Jon. I'm really sorry. I'm not really good at dates, I guess."

"Then why are you here?"

She tilted her head and seriously considered his question.

"I don't know. Everyone keeps telling me that I need to be happy and get back out there, ya know, in the dating pool."

Jon stood up and came around to her side, sitting down right next to her on the bench seat. Well, she thought, so much for distance. But he didn't touch her. He leaned back and propped his feet up on his abandoned chair.

"So, what do you want to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"It sounds like you're here with me cause everyone else wants you to be, but what do you want? Do you want to date? Do you not? And if you don't, then why does it matter what anybody else thinks?"

"I uh, it doesn't matter, I guess. I know everyone's been watching me these past months like I'm gonna break. Everyone- Brie, Nikki, Glen, my family, Nick, my PAs- everyone's been taking care of me and I just want to make them happy. I want them to not worry about me."

Jon took her hand, caressing it softly with his thumb, "Darlin, they care about you so they're gonna worry. You went through something awful."

Her head leaned until it was resting on his shoulder, "You don't actually know what happened."

"No, but I do know you're not the same person you were six months ago. I saw you then and you were...happy."

"Hey, I'm happy now!"

Jon raised his hand to the barkeep, indicating he wanted two more. Once their new drinks were in front of them, he continued.

"You may be happy, but you're not the same girl. The other night at karaoke, that girl...that's who you were last year. Everytime I'd walk to or even pass the gorilla, I just remember always hearing peals of laughter. You'd be talking to one of the girls or one of your runners and I'd see you and your head would be thrown back laughing. It was wonderful."

She smiled and kissed his leather-clad shoulder.

"Tell me more."

"About?"

"The girl I used to be."

He looked down at her and she up at him. She had a desperate hopelessness about her and he had almost a frantic need to wash that away.

"I'm gonna tell you a story."

"Ok," she snuggled in a little closer and finished off her drink, nodding at the bartender when he looked her way.

"Does it have a happy ending?"

He squeezed her hand, "Don't know yet."

A little smile crept onto her face, "So, what's this story about?"

"The first time I ever saw you."

"Jon..."

"Just listen, ok."

She took a deep breath, afraid of what she was going to hear, "Alright."

"Scarlett, the first time I ever saw you, I was sitting in catering. It was Survivor Series and the Shield was making our debut that night. I was nervous and so were Colby and Joe. We were talking things over when all of sudden, I heard this laughter ringing out and it was so beautiful. I looked up, completely ignoring my teammates, and I saw you. You were with Nikki and Brie and you guys were giggling about something Bryan had done. I had never seen anyone more utterly beautiful in my entire life. Your cheeks were flushed from laughing and your hair were full and shiny and your body...damn, your body. I wanted to have you from that day, to be near you and not just physically, ya know. I wanted to be your friend, someone who you could talk to about anything. I wanted to know all your hopes, your fears, your dreams...all that corny shit. I was so lost in my thoughts that Colby and Joe turned around to see what I was looking at and I haven't heard the end of it...even now. Joe told me who you were and it scared the shit out of me at first. I had heard so much about the vaunted McMahons, but had only met Stephanie and she's...well, you're her sister, you know what I mean. So, instead of talking to you immediately, I held back. Had to know what you were like. Not that it would've mattered cause you were with someone and all. But I swore to myself on that day that I would be in your life somehow, even if all we ever are is friends."

She'd been nursing her drink the entire time he was talking and slowly finished it, placing her empty glass on the table. Leaning back up, she took a moment to contemplate the war inside her head before making her firm decision. She sat up and placed her left leg over Jon's lap, pushing herself up. His hands came naturally to her hips, thinking she was a little tipsy from the drinks. So, he was understandably a little shocked when she kept going and straddled him fully. His eyebrows were skyhigh in surprise but he decided to just go with it, liking this unpredictable side of Scarlett. She nestled against him, their hips locked together. He was trying really hard to keep his thoughts in control, not wanting to embarrass her or himself if his pants got tighter than they already were. She leaned over, her lips coming to rest against his ear.

"I liked that story. Thank you."

She sat back up and he grinned at her, "You're most welcome."

"So, what happened afterwards?"

"Huh?"

"You said you had to know what I was like. So, what did you find out?"

Jon laughed softly and sat up fully, moving his hands up to her sides, stroking lightly.

"I found out that you were even more perfect than I had imagined. The first time that I actually met you at the gorilla, you were so sweet. It was, like, two weeks or so after my debut and you wanted to know if I was okay and settling in good. I wanted to know all about you but you didn't want to talk about yourself, which is weird cause everybody always wants to talk about themselves. But not you, all you cared about was my well-being, even though you didn't know me at all. The more I asked around about you, everybody just gushed about how you were the most down-to-earth girl in the entire world and how it would be so awesome if one day, you were running the company. I asked Glen about that one day, about why you wouldn't run the company and he told me that you didn't want to. You were content to be in the figure in the background, the one who held it all together. And that's what I admire most about you. The shows, man, they wouldn't run without you."

Scarlett rolled her eyes dramatically, "Whatever. They would run just fine. Surely, there's somebody competent enough to do my job."

"Well, yeah, of course, but it wouldn't be the same. Without you and your sunshine radiating everywhere, I think almost everyone would be miserable. Sure, we'd still work cause it's what we love and the money's good, but we wouldn't love working where we do. You're one of the main reasons I love coming to work everyday and I know I'm not the only one who feels that way."

The smile on her face was huge and unabashed and she brought her hands up to the sides of his face, caressing softly.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"Well, you were with someone else and I may be a lot of things, but I don't ruin relationships, especially when they're happy ones."

Her smile dropped, "Well, that all went to shit anyway."

His hand came up to her face, "You can talk about it, you know? I'd listen if you ever wanted to."

Scarlett's head shook slowly and she turned it to kiss his palm slowly, "Not today. I'm having a good time and don't want to ruin it."

"Well, what can I do to get a smile back on your gorgeous face?"

Her lips went up into a smirk, "Oh I can think of a thing or two."

She leaned forward and captured his lips with her own. His hands immediately tangled in her hair and brought her closer. Her arms looped around her neck and she sighed into the kiss, letting all the stress wash away and just enjoying the feeling he was giving her. And oh, believe me, there was feeling. Their kisses progressed from the first, which was chaste and sweet to passionate and consuming. His heart was singing for the fact that she had kissed him first and he wanted her to know his appreciation. His tongue snaked out to slide across her bottom lip, begging for access which she swiftly gave. Their tongues dueled together in a race to explore each other. She would sometimes pull back only to nip at his lip and he'd let out an involuntary low growl that would turn her on even more. His hands moved from her hair to her back to her sides to her arms and back again, over and over. He could feel her tank top and shorts under his hands and wanted to rip them off so he could explore her more fully, but contained himself, remembering where they were. He didn't know if she remembered, though, seeing as how her fingers had slipped under his shirt and were ghosting over his abs. Finally pulling back and breathing heavily, he looked at her, enjoying the sheen of lust that was in her emerald eyes.

"Darlin, I hate to do this, but we are in public. Maybe we should take this somewhere else."

"Why? Thought you liked a little adventure?"

He chuckled softly, "Oh I do, but didn't want anyone taking a video and it winding up all over the internet tomorrow."

She laughed out loud, the beautiful noise that he loved, "Damn I can just imagine: Dean Ambrose and unidentified woman making out in seedy Baltimore bar. Of course, I wouldn't stay unidentified for long and that would just send everything into a whirl, wouldn't it?"

He nodded slowly, "Most likely."

She leaned back in, but this time only kissed his cheek, "Thank you for protecting my honor. You're always a g-man."

He sighed, "No problem. Wait...g-man? What the fuck is that?"

Her mischievous grin met his bewildered eyes, "A certain word you hate, but your behavior always shows you up and reveals your true nature."

It was his turn to roll his eyes, "One day, I'm going to do something heinous and you'll never call me that again."

"Well, until that day, it's sticking. Now, why don't we get out of here before we end up on TMZ?"

"Good idea! We could go back to your room and watch a movie or something?"

Getting up and linking hands, he paid for the rest of their drinks and they made their way to the door. As they were walking out, she stopped him beside the car. Running her hands through his hair, she leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss him again. A simple, sweet kiss.

"I can't, I'm sorry. I would love it if you walked me to my room and kissed me goodnight but I can't let you in. Eventually, but I can't just yet. Do you understand?"

He sighed softly, "As much as one part of me wants to scream no, the other, bigger part of me understands. We can take this as slow as you need to."

"Thank you...so much."

Getting back into the car, he entwined their hands again and they drove back to the hotel in silence, her still singing softly to Linda Ronstadt and him enjoying listening. When they disembarked and got up to the room, he did as she said and kissed her softly, lingering, showing her exactly what she meant to him.

"One day...", he whispered.

Her smile was all he needed, "One day."

*********khan*********

Well, what do you think? Like I said, this started out as something completely different in my head: something more visceral and raw. But I like that it turned into something sweeter and more meaningful and still got me to my end goal. Hope you all enjoyed and the next chapter will be hopefully be up in two or three days. Meh, I don't wanna go back to work! grumblegrumble


	5. Timebomb

On my outline, the next three chapters were one! But I wrote it and it was looooooooooong. Like, 11,000 words long! So I'm splitting it up. You'll get one tonight, one tomorrow and one on thursday. Hope you guys like! Definitely a turning point in my insane story!

The song for this chapter is _Timebomb_ by Beck.

As always, huge kisses and many hugs to my awesome reviewers: **nattiebroskette, dreamin'BIG, HisMnkyPrincess **and **tootertoad85**. You guys are so lovely!

*********khan*********

_April 28th, 2014- St. Louis, Missouri_

Scarlett was in high spirits. She and Jon had spent nearly the entire week together, alone and with their friends. A pay-per-view was coming up so there were shows scheduled every night and there were gatherings after every one. They had gone to most of them, drinking and reveling with their friends until the wee hours and then going to the hotel and crashing only to get up and do it all again the next day. Nikki had gotten the gang together again for karaoke after Smackdown and surprised them all, especially Scarlett, by bringing Brie and Bryan. They hadn't been expected back until after the ppv, but Stephanie had called and said they needed them back to start an angle so there they were. When Scarlett saw Brie, she squealed like a teenager about to see a boy band and nearly knocked her best friend over hugging her.

"I'm so happy you're back!"

Bryan smirked, "Hey, what about me?"

Scarlett rolled her eyes at him, not breaking the deathlock she had on Brie, "Yeah, whatever, you too, but oh my god Brie, I've missed you so much!"

That night had been the highlight of their week, mainly because they'd gotten Joe wasted again and got him back on stage, this time group sing-a-longing their way through We Are the Champions by Queen. Scarlett sat on Jon's lap for the rest of the night after that. Bryan took her deserted chair and his wife perched herself on him, the two girls yapping away about Brie's honeymoon and what had happened in the E while the Danielsons had been on their honeymoon. At one point, Jon caught Bryan's eye and, knowing that the girls were too engrossed to hear him, asked him a serious question.

"Are they always like this?"

Bryan laughed, "Oh yeah." He took notice of Jon's hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow, nodding his head in that direction, "So, obviously we missed something while we were gone."

Jon shrugged, "I don't know, man...we're just having a good time. Nothing too serious."

"Yet."

"If she wants that, sure. I'm just along for the ride, whatever it is."

"Well, I don't think I have to tell you that if you hurt her, I'll beat the shit out of you."

"Dude, you're about the 10th person to say that. You'd have to get in line behind Colby, Joe and Nikki. Not to mention Glen."

"Or we could all just gang up and kill you together."

"Alright, I understand. You have my full permission to stomp the piss out of me if I ever do something that stupid, but I highly doubt it. She'll probably break my heart long before I could want out."

Bryan had nodded and even smiled at the man, clapping him on the shoulder before turning his attention back to his adorable wife. Jon had done the same, focusing on his wonderful...what was she exactly? She certainly wasn't his lover or girlfriend. They'd had heavy makeout sessions almost every night but never went into each other's rooms. He knew she'd let him know when she was ready and he didn't want to rush her, but god, he wanted her. More so than he had even thought before. When she touched him, no matter how innocent, it sent chills through him and he wanted to stop whatever they were doing and ravage her right then and there. It had been that way all week. He hoped she had some idea of what he was going through. How he woke up every day with a raging erection due to some very erotic dreams that she starred in. He'd told her about one when he went to the gorilla one day. It had been about half an hour before showtime and she was strangely all by herself. He dragged her behind a stack of cases so that they'd couldn't be seen as easily and whispered in her ear while she assaulted his neck.

"Baby, last night, I dreamed about you."

She grinned up at him, grinning devilishly, "Oh, really...do tell."

It was his turn to worship her neck, "Well you see...we were in my bedroom back in Vegas. There were no lights on but the room was all lit up with candles, these black candles and there were black curtains and even my bedsheets were black and shiny and you were laying in the middle of my bed, completely naked. And I was just walking around the bed, watching you, almost hunting you in a way and your eyes never left mine. You looked so fucking sexy. You kept crawling to me and I kept moving around and around until you eventually stopped. You had your back to me and I crept up behind you and you were mine. All mine."

Between his story and his wet, lazy kisses all over her neck, she was so turned on that she nearly had sex with him right there. Only the knowledge that one of her PAs would walk up at any minute stopped her and she told him just that.

"If we were anywhere else right now..."

He'd smirked at her softly before kissing her goodbye and telling her he'd see her later, leaving her to take some much needed deep breaths before walking out to greet Amanda, who had just entered the gorilla, wondering where her boss was.

They'd had lunch with Colby and Joe before driving to the arena, holding hands across the parking lot, trying to ignore the sarcastic remarks from their friends behind them.

"Oh, look at them Col, just a pair of kids in love."

"Joe, if they had to be apart from each other for more than five minutes, then they'd probably die from heartbreak."

"Just you wait, brother, they'll probably be hitched before you know it."

"With little mini tikes pitter pattering around!"

That earned them twin middle fingers but they just kept at it until the four of them got into the arena. Jon and Scarlett let their hands drop, not wanting to gather too much attention especially since all her family was there. Walking toward The Shield's locker room, where Scarlett was put her stuff, they turned a corner and...

"There's my baby girl!"

Scarlett ran forward into her father's waiting arms, throwing her around him. Sure, she wasn't a mama or daddy's girl and they'd had their share of disagreements, but she loved her parents. They had always been good to her and accepted her choice not to take on a bigger role in the company. They raised their eyebrows when she came home with a couple of tattoos after her extended time on the road with the company, but never said anything, especially when the collection grew during her time with CM Punk. No, they had their poster children in Shane and Stephanie and they both had given them several grandchildren. Scarlett, they just let her be her and she was grateful for it.

"How have you been, dear?"

Scarlett embraced her mother as well, "Mom, you act like I didn't just see you a week ago. But I'm good, good as ever."

Jon lightly touched her shoulder, "Sorry to interrupt, but Scar, we're gonna go set all this down. See you later, ok?"

Scarlett smiled in his direction, "Ok, see ya. I'll come find you later."

Vince held up his hand, "One minute, I need to talk to you about something. Actually, this concerns all three of you."

Scarlett's eyes grew as wide as saucers. He knew, didn't he? Someone had gotten back to him about her and Jon's shenanigans this week and he was pissed. Oh my god, she thought, he's going to flip out! Looking at Jon and the boys, she could see they too were worried about what their boss had to say. He started speaking, looking at his daughter.

"Now, Scarlett, you know what the WWE's travel policy is: nobody travels alone. And it's been brought to my attention by someone who cares..."

Scarlett rolled her eyes, "You mean Stephanie."

"Well, yes, she brought it to my attention that you've been travelling all by yourself. This can't continue. If something happened to you on the road, nobody would know about it. It's dangerous. You know it and I know it."

"Dad, I've travelled by myself for five months now. Nothing had happened and it's not going to happen. I'm perfectly safe. Probably helps that I have resting bitch face and I could kick anybody's ass who even tried to mess with me. Also, there's a very large knife in my bag..."

Her mother sighed, "Evelyn."

"Mother, don't."

"Evelyn?" This came from Jon, Joe and Colby, who were looking at her with raised eyebrows. She whipped around, daring any one of them to keep talking.

"Yes, she said Evelyn. It's my first name and also my grandmother's name. If I hear so much as the hint of a laugh come out of any of you, it'll be your last. Got me?"

Colby and Joe actually looked apologetic, "Ok, Scar."

Jon, however, had the mischievous grin she had come to dread, "Ok..."

She slowly turned back around to face her parents.

"Evelyn."

Colby burst out laughing and Joe followed behind him. Jon just kept grinning.

"I'm going to kill all three of you. You're warned."

Looking back at her father, who looked like he wanted to laugh as well, she just shook her head.

"Anyways, so yeah Dad, really don't need anybody with me on the road. Just sayin'."

"Well, my dear, unfortunately it's not your choice. But I've got a great idea and since you seem to get along, I think you won't mind it. Seeing as how I know they won't mind, I think you should travel with these three, the Shield!"

Scarlett was dumbstruck. Was her father insane? He must've had no idea about her and Jon or there's no way he would've done this. He wouldn't have pushed them even closer together.

"You fellas don't have any problem with this do you?"

Colby was almost jumping with glee, "No sir! We'll take such good care of her. Scarlett, we're going to have so much fun!"

Joe agreed, "Absolutely no problem. She'll be in good hands, sir."

Jon was silent. She turned and looked at him with a look of bewilderment that almost matched his. Colby patted him on the back to shake him out of it.

"Isn't this going to be fun, brother?"

A small smile came onto Jon's face, "Yeah, it'll be fun. Don't worry, Vince, we'll keep her safe."

Vince clapped his hands, "Well then, glad that's settled! Now why don't you all go get settled and we'll see you later."

Scarlett handed Jon her bag, "You guys go ahead. Do you mind putting this in there for me? I'll see you later."

Turning back to her father, she said, "When's your meeting?"

"What meeting?"

"Don't play dumb. I know about your meeting with Phil. I want to be there. I deserve to hear anything he has to say."

Vince sighed, "Can Stephanie keep nothing a secret? She wasn't supposed to tell you he'd be here."

"Well, I'm glad she did! Better than me being unaware and running into him randomly in the building."

"Scarlett, I don't know what he wants but it can't be something that concerns you. It probably something about his contract or what happens if we ever do a dvd or something like that."

"And what if wants to come back? Does that not concern me?"

"It shouldn't."

"It should as fuck should!"

"Evelyn! Language!"

Rolling her eyes, Scarlett sighed, "Mother, please stop calling me that. I'm almost 28 years old and the only, and I do mean only, people who call me Evelyn are you and the DMV."

Turning back to her father, she continued, "Dad, I'm sorry for yelling, but you have to know that he didn't come all the way down here to talk about a contract clause or something as silly as a dvd that doesn't even exist yet. It has to be something bigger."

Her father's eyes always gave him away and right now, they were telling her that he knew this. She knew why her father was doing this. She was, after all, his baby girl and he wanted to protect her from things that made her unhappy and he'd seen her when she moved back to Connecticut. He'd gone to her house and seen her holed up, living in her pajamas in a pig sty. He'd encouraged his wife to take their daughter out for the afternoon just so he could get a cleaning crew over there to wash away the squalor. He couldn't let that downward spiral continue and that's why he'd made her get back on the road after a while. If she'd quit like she initially wanted to, she would've become even more depressed.

"Ok, you can be there, but I want you to sit back and be quiet. I will talk to him."

Her grimace conveyed her feelings, "Ok, no promises but I will try. Thanks dad."

An hour later, she stood outside the conference room where the meeting was to be held. She was pacing slightly and couldn't get up the nerve to walk in.

"Sis, if there was carpet, you would've worn through it already."

She smirked at Stephanie as she walked up. Grabbing her little sister's shoulders, she held her at arm's length.

"Now, I know that haven't seen or talked to him in months, but I know he's still a sore spot. But you will not walk into this room with your head down or your shoulders sagged or any of that nonsense. Because you're a McMahon and you may not be exactly like the rest of us, but we do share something: the strongest fucking backbone you'll ever see."

Scarlett looked at her sister in amazement. Stephanie rarely cursed, but if she did, it deserved your undivided attention.

"Now you, baby sister, are going to walk into this room with your back straight and your head held high because no man should ever make you forget who you are or what you came from. Got it?"

Scarlett couldn't help but feel encouraged. She took a deep breath and Stephanie opened the door, allowing her sister to come in behind her. Scarlett saw her parents and Paul were already there, sitting on one side of the table. When she looked to the other side, it took every ounce of willpower she had not to jump across the table and start breaking skulls. Phil sat there, looking smug, and he wasn't alone. AJ was with him and smiling that annoying all-teeth grin of hers. Both their expressions dropped when they saw her. Phil's eyes whipped to Vince.

"I thought you said she wasn't going to be here."

Vince glared back, "Well I didn't expect your...friend to be here either and I think we can all agree Scarlett has more of a place here than she does."

AJ's eyes widened significantly, but she knew better than to speak. Any one of the five people she was facing had the technical right to fire her and she didn't dare give them reason.

Phil smirked, "Well, my fiancée and I had something to discuss with you. I didn't realize it was going to be a family affair."

Stephanie spoke up, "I thought you would've realized by now that we McMahons stick together and handle everything as a family. You should've known that back in December."

"Yeah, when you kicked me out of my rightful place in this company?"

Paul laughed, "Oh my god, get over it. So what, you weren't going to be in the main event at wrestlemania? You can't be the top guy all the time, Phil."

"Yeah well, it should've been me. How many years did I give this company just to get treated like crap, huh? How many times did I go out and prove myself night after night? To get...what? Sidelined for Batista? It was bullshit and you know it."

"Damn, Punk, so you gave what, eight or nine years, and were the champ for over a year at one point during that and you just expected to automatically be the man forever? Until you retired? Doesn't work that way? You gotta earn that top spot and then when you get there, you gotta work even harder. You just wanted stuff handed to you."

"Like you, Paul? Did you earn every main event you were in? Nah, I think we all know how you earned your way," Phil said, learing his eyes at Stephanie.

Paul erupted from the table, threatening Phil with violence if he so much as looked at his wife again. Stephanie shot up too, trying to calm him down. Her father was on Paul's other side, holding him back, while her mother looked about ready to have a heart attack. Scarlett knew that if they wanted to settle this, she'd have to take control.

"Everybody, sit down."

Nothing. Fuck me, she thought.

"EVERYBODY SIT THE FUCK DOWN!"

Six pairs of eyes focused on her, but she only looked at the four who actually mattered.

"Paul, Dad, Stephanie, calm down. Sit down. If this turns into a screaming match, nothing will get said and nothing will get accomplished. Dad, he wanted this meeting and you gave it to him so you must want to hear what he has to say. So, please, sit down."

Once they had, she turned to her ex, who was smug as ever. Venom filled her head and her eyes, but she kept her voice calm and neutral.

"Phil, if you say one more word of disrespect to my sister or to rile up my brother-in-law, this meeting will be over and you will have achieved nothing. Now tell us: what do you want?"

Phil's eyes trained on her, but she kept her chin up. He was not going to make her feel small. He eventually smiled at her, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Well, seeing as how April and I are going to be married soon, we want to spend as much time together as possible. Not just before the wedding, but after as well."

Stephanie piped up, "I hope you don't expect us to give her a lot of time off. We could a week max when the wedding happens but not before or after. Unless she doesn't want to work here anymore and, in that case, I'm sure things could be worked out."

AJ leaned in, "I don't want to go anywhere."

"Exactly," Phil continued, "And I wouldn't want to quit a job she loves so much either. So, I want to come back. I think I've heard the crowds correctly these last few months: chanting my name at you. It's safe to say it's what they all want and what you all need."

Stephanie again replied, "They'll forget."

"No, they won't and you know it. We all know that, even a few months, hell, a year from now, they'll be chanting for me. Still wanting to see me and to buy my merchandise." Turning his attention to Vince, he went on, "Come on, Vince, you had to know what I called this meeting for. You're a businessman and so am I. I want to spend more time with my future wife and make you a whole lot of money while doing it. Surely, we can agree on something."

Vince looked at Scarlett and she could see in his eyes that was torn. Paul and Stephanie, however, looked disgusted. Her brother-in-law spoke up.

"And what if the money's not worth having to see you everyday?"

"Well, it's been a few months since all the drama happened, surely we're all over it and can be professional, yes?"

Paul scoffed and Stephanie sneered.

"Do you even remember what that drama consisted of? Do you remember what you did to my sister? Let me remind you, first off, you..."

Scarlett grabbed her sister's arm, not hard, but enough to make her shut up, "Stephanie, don't."

Her eyes flicked over to Phil, "What would be your terms?"

"I don't have any."

Scarlett smirked, "Please Phil, even though you may think I don't know you, I do. We were together for a long time and you always knew what you were doing. So, don't play this game. Just tell me what your terms would be."

Phil couldn't help but laugh a little, "I forgot how smart you were."

She gave him nothing back.

"Alright, if I came back, I would want certain things. One, a raise. Two, a raise for my girl here. Three, a guaranteed spot in the Wrestlemania main event next year. And four...Scarlett can still work here, but I want her to be stationed in the production truck. Where she belongs."

*********khan*********

So, that's it until tomorrow. Hope you guys enjoyed! Any guesses on how this will work out? I'd love to hear them.


	6. Black Tongue

As promised, here is the next part of my very, very long chapter. An almighty THANK YOU to **HisMnkyPrincess, nattiebroskette** and** angelsdee327** for their awesome reviews.

The song for this chapter is _Black Tongue_ by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

*********khan*********

_April 28th, 2014- St. Louis, Missouri_

None of the people on the other side of the table moved or even did anything except stare at Phil. Was he serious? Did he realize just how ridiculous it all was? He expected money, a big push and he wanted Scarlett out of the way. Stephanie, who was used to crazy demands from all sorts of people, finally gathered her wits and answered him.

"The only thing you mentioned that is negotiable is a spot in the Wrestlemania main event. April just got a raise back in November. I know because I got it for her because of her hard work throughout the year. Kinda wish I could take that back now. Your raise is out of the question. You quit your job with no notice. We will not reward you for that. And that last part, well, I'm going to completely ignore it."

Phil raised an eyebrow, "Stephanie, I thought this was a meeting to negotiate my return. You can't just say no to almost every single thing I want. And besides, I didn't come here to talk to you anyway. Vince, care to join in?"

Her father, largely silent during this farce of a meeting, looked at his children and then at his ex-employee.

"I agree with my daughter."

Phil looked like his mind was about to explode.

"Is that it all you're going to say?"

"Yes, that's all I'm going to say. We didn't know this was a meeting about you returning because you didn't tell me so on the phone. I didn't know what to expect coming in here. However, we all had a feeling your return was the reason and, if you'd come in here with reasonable terms, then this conversation might be headed in a different direction. I'm assuming that since we won't give you what you want, you're not going to come back, am I right?"

"You're damn straight."

"Well then, Phil, I wish you and Miss Mendez all the happiness in the world...or something like that."

Vince stood and his wife, son-in-law and daughters followed him. Scarlett was the last to leave the room and as she did, she turned just once to look at the man who destroyed her world. He looked her in the eye and she just shook her head softly before exiting.

Later on, Scarlett was in the gorilla, her natural setting, and the show was rolling along as usual. The Shield were in the ring, clearing house and taking names. They finished with their signature pose, fists joined, and exited, coming up the ramp toward her. She smiled as the boys came through, one in particular. Jon came up and hugged her, covering her in sweat.

"Ew..."

Not letting go, he whispered in her ear, "Oh come on babe, you know you like me all close and sweaty."

She giggled, that magical noise he always loved, "I do but right now, not the time or place. Maybe later, since we're travelling together now...oh, did you know about that?"

"Absolutely no idea, darlin. I'm not too upset about it though. Are you?"

"At first, kinda. I like going by myself, if only cause I get to spend a few hours away from the constant hustle and bustle of this place. But I don't know, after thinking about it, maybe it won't be so bad. We can snuggle in the backseat."

"Hey, no complaints here," he said, wrapping her back in his arms. She returned it and they enjoyed a moment of peace.

"Aw honey, look at them. Don't they look soooooo happy."

Scarlett pulled back from Jon and they both turned to see Phil and AJ standing there. She had a match so he had walked her to the gorilla. Jon faced them fully and stepped in front of Scarlett.

"Phil, you need to go away. You don't have any business being here."

"Oh really, Jon? Are you her personal bodyguard now? I think I have more business being here seeing as how my fiancée is about to go out to the ring. Plus, Scarlett and I have some unfinished business."

"See, man, what you don't understand is that you're not getting anywhere near Scarlett. You have nothing to say that she needs to hear."

"But I have things to say that she needs to understand."

Scarlett placed her hand on Jon's back and he turned to look at her, "It's ok."

Jon stared at her for a long minute, "Ok, but if he gets out of line, I swear. I'm staying right here."

"I want you to."

Glaring at the couple she despised, she addressed them coolly, "AJ, your music's about to hit. Leave us."

AJ was about to protest when her music did indeed start. Kissing Phil goodbye, she sent an evil glare towards Scarlett but then flipped into her character, skipping and grinning as if nothing was wrong. When she was gone, Scarlett gave her headset to Amanda, trusting her to do a good job.

"I already asked you this once tonight and I don't plan on doing it again: Phil, what do you want?"

He gave her a huge grin, "Oh Scarlett, it's so nice to see you outside of that protective McMahon bubble. You act completely different around them. Always the dutiful businesswoman but then you get by yourself and your aura starts to shine a little less."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Does anybody in the family know about you two?" He pointed between her and Jon. Scarlett could feel Jon rise up behind her and reached around to put a hand on his arm, calming him down.

"What goes on with my life now doesn't concern you, Phil."

"Correct. I rid myself of the cancer known as the McMahons. But that also means that you don't have any say in my life either."

She was confused, "You're right, I don't. You didn't need to tell me that."

"Oh, I think I did. You see, AJ told me about you threatening her. Something about reminding her that she's just talent and you're a great McMahon. I won't have this, Scarlett. She's done nothing to you. Let it go and stop picking on her."

Now, she was incensed, "What? Me...picking on her? Phil, I know you haven't been around for the last few months and so you're just hearing one side of a story, but she is an annoying little terror. I never start a conversation with her, never go out of my way to associate with her at all. But your little girlfriend..."

"Fiancée."

"What the fuck ever! She runs around here getting in my face and rubbing it in, the fact that you guys are getting married or you guys just had the best vacation or you guys this or you guys that. And I have never said a fucking word back but finally I got tired of it so I gently reminded her of her place. Was it a threat? Fuck yes! But you know what, it got her out of my face. For once! And now, you can kindly get the hell out of my face as well. I have a show to run."

Turning around, she looked at Jon, who was smiling broadly with pride. Damn, Scarlett was sexy when she was angry!

"Scarlett, jealousy doesn't become you."

She rounded again, staring at Phil incredulously.

"Jealous of what?"

"I mean, don't you see it? Jon, don't you see it? You are so fucking jealous of AJ! Are you still in love with me? Is that it? Is that why you still have all this pent-up anger and rage? Because you know deep in your heart, you still want me in your bed, warming you up at night?"

Scarlett just smirked, "You think I still want you? After everything you've done?"

"Sounds like it to me."

"Well, then...watch this."

Turning back around, she marched behind Jon and spun him around to face her and she could see Phil over his shoulder. She looked at him for a split second and then attacked his lips with hers. She threw her arms around his neck and his hands went naturally to her waist, pulling her closer. It was so intense and reckless that Jon forgot any bewilderment he should've felt. He opened his eyes a split second before the kiss was over...and what he saw nearly broke his heart.

Scarlett was kissing him but staring at Phil, pure, unadulterated hate in her eyes.

Breaking the kiss, she walked back around him and they continued their argument, but Jon was lost in his thoughts. Why had she done that? How could she have done that? This wasn't his Scarlett. Hell, this wasn't any version of her that he had ever seen. He'd seen her mad and full of fury. He'd seen her ticked off and spouting a tirade about someone. But he had never seen her like that: vindictive, irate and selfish. He had seen someone else like this before, though. Her sister. Stephanie. Maybe this was who Scarlett really was and he had just fooled himself into believing something different. Maybe she acted like she cared about him to get a rise out of Punk. Whatever it was, he couldn't understand. How could she have taken something as precious as their kiss and turned it into something so ugly?

He turned around to walk away but all he could see were Phil and Scarlett still screaming at each other.

"You'll never have anything better than me, Scarlett!"

"I already do," she said, pointing at Jon, "This man is better than you. In every way!"

The way she stressed the word _every_ implied something that wasn't true. From the look on Phil's face, he knew it. She'd just told him and everyone within earshot that they were sleeping together when they had yet to even be in the same bedroom at the same time. Jon couldn't believe this. She was lying now. About him. About them. In front of him. In front of everyone.

Scarlett continued, "Now I'm warning you, Phil. If you do not get the fuck out of here, I'm calling security. You are not an employee so I can have you thrown out. And I will!"

"I'm waiting for my fiancée."

"No, you're not! Get. The. Fuck. Out!"

Phil stared her down but eventually acquiesced. He held up his hands and slowly back away before turning and storming out of the gorilla. Scarlett's shoulders, which had been squared and tense, sagged as she let out a long exhale. Running her fingers through her hair, she spun on one foot to face everyone who'd heard the whole argument.

"I'm sorry, everyone. Let's get back to work!"

And just like that, the gorilla was fine again. All the assistants went back to talking loudly into headsets and paying attention to nothing but the monitors and their scripts. Scarlett would join them in a minute, but she had to make sure Jon was alright. That had been a nasty confrontation and she'd never wanted him to see her like that. Reaching out her hand to his shoulder, she started to apologize.

"Hey, I'm sorry..."

When her hand made contact, he jerked away from her. Freezing in motion, her head tilted slowly to the side as she looked at him, confused.

"Jon..."

"Don't touch me."

"What?"

"I said, don't touch me. Leave me alone."

Before she could say anything at all, he stormed past her, too angry to even yell at her for her actions. He could hear her yelling after him, calling his name, but he didn't care. He had to get away from her for a little while before he exploded.

*********khan*********

Ruh-roh! There's a little bit o' trouble in paradise, I think. Stay tuned for tomorrow's update in which we see how this all shakes out! How do you think it's going to go down? I'm excited. Are you excited?! You better be! XOXO


	7. The Story

Sorry, I know I said it would be up yesterday, but...life, dude. Sometimes it gets in the way. A huge shoutout to the following beautiful people: **angelsdee327, nattiebroskette, HisMnkyPrincess, KP817, alibob687** and **xSamiliciousx**! Thanks for the reviews! Also thanks to all the people who are pushing that favorite and follow button as well! Here is the super, duper long ending to this drama-filled day! Seriously, 5,562 words! I am the champ!

The song for this chapter is, appropriately, _The Story_ by Brandi Carlile.

*********khan*********

_April 28th, 2014- St. Louis, Missouri_

The rest of Raw was a wreck for Scarlett. She couldn't focus on the task at hand. All she could see was Jon's face when he'd stormed away from her. He'd looked so angry, but sad as well. What had she done? Sure, she and Phil had been at each other's throats but she hadn't done anything that would've made Jon angry. Right?

Thank god she had Amanda right by her side. The younger girl saved her ass by basically doing Scarlett's job all night. When the cameras finally went off and they were finishing their last-minute tasks, Scarlett grabbed the girl and pulled her into a hug, not caring if it was at all unprofessional or awkward.

"Thank you so much. I'm gonna make this up to you and I won't forget it."

The blonde hugged her back, soothing Scarlett's nerves.

"Absolutely, boss lady. We all have bad days. Nothing to worry about."

Smiling, Scarlett took off to the Shield's locker room, wondering if that's where Jon was. She needed to know what was wrong, sure that it was something small that could probably be explained quickly. After this long day, she wanted them to be okay so she could snuggle in his arms on their ride to the next city. Coming to the door, she knocked and waited a moment before hearing Colby tell her to come in.

"You guys about ready?"

Joe smiled and threw an arm around her shoulders, hugging her tightly.

"I'm so happy you're gonna be on the road with us. We need a bit of estrogen in the car!"

Colby seconded that, "We're going to have so much fun! You and me can practice karaoke duets!"

"Won't that be a little annoying to the big guy and Jon?"

"Who cares?!"

She laughed, knowing that even if Joe didn't mind, Jon most certainly would. Speaking of...

"Where is Jon?"

"He grabbed his stuff and said he'd be out at the car. Something about a cigarette. Girl, he's been in a shit mood for the last few hours. Maybe once he sees you, it'll get better."

Grimacing at the man with the two-toned hair, she said, "I don't know. It may be me he's mad at."

Joe furrowed his brows, "Why's that, baby girl?"

"I don't know. He was with me earlier and Phil came up and started shit. We ended up in a huge argument and Jon saw the whole thing. Afterwards, he was really upset and just walked away. I have no idea what happened."

The big Samoan shrugged his shoulders, "Well, I'm sure we'll know when we get on the road. Once he's had a bit of time, Jon will always let us know what's bothering him."

"I hope so, Joe, I really do."

Grabbing all their bags, the trio walked to the garage, seeing Jon leaning up against the concrete wall by their SUV and tugging on a menthol. When the slightly off man saw them, he scowled. Scarlett didn't miss that it was directed at her and her spirit fell. So, he was still mad and she had no idea why. When they reached him, his eyes bored into her, but he was silent otherwise. Joe and Colby didn't say anything either and started to load all their bags in the car, giving the burgeoning couple their space. She stepped up slowly until she was a foot away.

"Are we ok?"

He took the last pull off his cigarette, throwing it to the side with more force than necessary. Looking back at her, an incredulous look spread over his features.

"No. We're not ok."

"Well then, tell me why you're mad at me so we can figure it out. I really don't want you to be angry the whole time we're in the car."

It was almost a four-hour drive to Kansas City, where the next night's show was, and she couldn't bear the thought of being confined with him if he was still in his current mood.

"Why do you think I'm mad?"

"I don't know, Jon. I really don't."

"Think real hard."

She was already exasperated.

"Jon, I don't know! Please, just tell me."

The expression on his face was stone hard. Stepping as close to her as he could, he leaned in menacingly.

"You used me to make that motherfucker jealous."

"What? No, I didn't."

Gripping the sides of her head, he pulled her even closer.

"Do you even remember what happened? I know your emotions were heightened. Don't know if that was anger at him or maybe something else..."

"Like what? I feel nothing for him."

"Oh bullshit, Scarlett! You kissed me but were staring at him the entire time! What was that, huh? You were trying to make him jealous for whatever reason and you used me to do it. And I know you're a lot of things, but I never knew you were shallow and vindictive."

Pulling her head out of his grasp, she took a necessary step back, shaking slightly at the venom lacing his words. She tried to speak, but couldn't form a coherent thought at all. Sensing her hesitation, he soldiered on.

"Nothing? Hmm, big surprise. You really can't defend yourself when you know it's the truth. Maybe Phil was right to rid himself of...what did he call it? The cancer known as the McMahons? Maybe he was right. Got himself out before too much damage was done."

He stopped, breathing heavily. She was trembling slightly, stung by his words. She couldn't remember clearly what had happened earlier but surely she hadn't used him like that. All she could remember was being insanely, blindly irate at Phil.

_You just said it yourself_, Scarlett's subconscious spoke,_ you were blind_.

Her eyes misted over. How could she have let Phil get to her like that? She had prided herself on not letting him and AJ get the better of her but it had finally happened and it hadn't just hurt her, but also the person she wanted to keep out of this mess the most.

"I'm...I'm sorry, Jon. I didn't mean to do that."

"Did you not mean to tell him we were sleeping together as well?"

"What? I didn't tell him that!"

"Not in words, but you telling him that I'm better in every way, what else could you have meant? Spare me the indignation and any tears you're thinking about shedding and just admit it."

Scarlett could only stare at him. He was so angry at her, his arms crossed over his chest, almost as if he was shielding himself from her. She took a step towards him, but he matched her, taking one back. Her arms flopped to her sides. She wanted to explain and make him feel better but the words wouldn't come and he wouldn't let her show him physically how much he meant to her. She was failing miserably.

"I...Jon, I don't know what to say. I don't know what you want to hear, but I swear, I didn't mean to make you feel like this. I'm sorry."

He looked down, away from her, and shook his head.

"Well, you haven't said anything to make this better, that's for sure."

"Where does that leave us?"

"Nowhere, Scarlett, it leaves us nowhere."

"What do you mean? Come on, Jon, please...tell me what to do to make it better."

"I can't tell you, Scar! Why do I have to tell you what to do to make this better? I don't know what would have to be done and apparently, neither do you."

Their stare down continued until Joe made his presence known. He and Colby had been standing at the back of the car the entire time, trying to keep their profile as low as possible.

"Hey guys, hate to interrupt but Scarlett, your dad is walking this way. Stephanie and Paul are with him."

Scarlett hung her head.

"Fuck..." How could this get any worse?

Wiping her eyes and rolling her shoulders back, she looked at Jon once more. He was smirking, at what she didn't know. Turning, she walked around to the back of the car so that her family could see her. Her father smiled at the sight and walked a little faster, reaching her and wrapping her in a hug.

"There's my baby girl. The show ran great tonight. Wanted to congratulate you on a job well done!"

She wanted to laugh in his face: she had nothing to do with the success of the show tonight.

"Are you guys about to head out?"

"Yes, I'm staying with Paul and your sister tonight and flying back in the morning. Your mother had to leave already. She told me to give you her love and said to call her soon. Something about your birthday."

"Ok, Dad, I'll do that."

"You and the boys here going to the hotel?"

"No, I think we're going to go ahead and go to Kansas City. They have to do promo work on Main Event tomorrow."

"Ok, well you take care. And boys," he said, turning his attention to Joe, Colby and Jon, who'd appeared at their side as well, "You guys watch out for my baby girl!"

Colby answered for all of them, "Will do, sir. She's like family to us already."

Her father hugged her once more and Stephanie and Paul waved their goodbyes, telling her they'd see her tomorrow. She turned back to the boys, wanting to talk to Jon some more, still hoping to get this ugliness worked out. But he spoke before she did.

"Let's get on the road. I'm tired."

Joe just nodded and offered to drive. Jon hopped in the passenger seat, leaving Scarlett and Colby to the back. Her shoulders sagged as she realized their conversation was over for the night. Getting in behind Joe, she pulled her knees into her chest, turning to stare out the window. It was going to be a long, awkward four hours to their destination and tears slowly slid down her face at the hopelessness of her situation. How could she fix this? Her shoulders shook softly as more tears came but she let no noise escape. Colby, worried for both of his friends, took notice and rubbed her shoulder, silently letting her know he was there for her. She didn't turn to face him but reached out her hand to grab his, desperately holding on.

_April 29th, 2014- Kansas City, Missouri_

The next morning, she woke up with a massive headache. Reaching into her purse, she grabbed her aspirin bottle and dry-swallowed three of the miraculous pills. Laying back down, she thought hard about her situation. She needed outside advice but who should she ask? She couldn't talk to Joe and Colby. Sure, she loved the guys, but they were Jon's best friends and way too close to the situation. Who then? Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone buzzing beside her. Picking it up, she saw a new text message.

_Hey girlie, heard about some stuff going down with Phil last night. Hope you're ok. Wanna go to breakfast with me and Nik?_

It was from Brie and she quickly responded in the affirmative, saying she'd meet them in the lobby in 20 minutes. That was exactly what she needed: time with her girls. They'd both had relationship up and downs and could help her out with Jon. Rising from the bed, she quickly got dressed and did the rest of her morning routine, careful not to wake Colby in the other bed. Since there was the four of them now, they'd agreed to get two rooms with two double beds in each. Colby had steered her to one room while Joe suggested he and Jon shared the other. It was like the brothers had ESP or something and knew that the almost lovers needed to be nowhere near each other for the night. When she was ready to go, she grabbed her purse and room card, giving Colby a quick kiss to the forehead and racing out the door to meet the twins.

When they got to a little café a block away from the hotel, she spilled the entire story to the girls, not enjoying the way they winced when she told them about what Jon had said to her during their confrontation. After she was done, Brie was the first to speak.

"Oh honey, I love you but you fucked up."

Scarlett looked at her, speaking sarcastically, "Well I know that, but how? I can't figure out how it was so bad that we can't work it out."

Nikki spoke up, "Babe, he thinks that you're using him to make Phil jealous. You have this insane fight with your ex and Jon's probably never seen that level of emotion come out of you. And then you kiss him while staring at Phil and then you imply that you guys are sleeping together, which isn't true. If I were him, I'd probably think that you had some unresolved feelings for Phil. You don't, right?"

"Absolutely not. I hate him."

"Well, you know what they say...fine line between hate and..."

"No, Nikki, I hate him. He destroyed any love I felt for him back in December."

"You never did tell me exactly what he did."

"And I won't. I can't tell that story again. To anyone."

"Maybe you should."

Scarlett whipped her head around to look at her best friend, who'd just spoken. Brie was the only one who knew what had actually happened that night.

"Brie, you can't be serious."

"I'm very serious. You remember when Bryan and I had that rough patch because of my ex, right?"

Scarlett did remember. Brie's ex had been abusive and she'd been so happy when Brie had finally dropped him. Meeting Bryan soon after, it was obvious that they were perfect for each other, but Brie had been hesitant at first, not able to trust Bryan. Scarlett had told her to tell him about her ex so he'd understand and be able to help her trust him completely. She had and they'd been perfectly, almost nauseatingly, happy ever since.

"I do, but it's not the same."

"How not? Jon doesn't understand why you're acting the way you are. Well, tell him the story and maybe it'll work itself out."

"Brie..."

"I know you don't want to, honey, but ask yourself this: how do you feel about Jon?"

"I don't know..."

"Do you want to keep seeing him?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to sleep with him?"

"Yes."

"Could you eventually fall in love with him?"

Scarlett took a long time to think about that, "Yes...one day."

"Well, if you don't make him understand where all your angry feelings towards Phil come from, then you won't get the chance to see how things would work out between you two. Tell him the story, Scar, and no matter what, tell him the complete truth. Don't hide anything because you think it's going to make you look bad or embarrass you."

Sighing, Scarlett smiled and grabbed her best friend's hand, "I love you, you know that right? Both of you." She grabbed Nikki's hand as well.

The twins smiled at her, "We do."

"How about some retail therapy before we have to be at the arena?"

They quickly agreed and the girls headed out, only returning to the hotel to drop off their bags before heading off to the show. She didn't see any of the boys before or during and just focused on making the show as great as possible. She apologized to her team again for the ruckus last night and swore to them it would never happen again.

After the Shield's promo was done, she received a text from Colby.

_Hey, we're going to head back to the hotel, but I can come get you when the show's over. Just let me know when._

She texted him back saying not to worry. She'd hitch a ride with the girls back and see them at the hotel. After everything was done, they rode back, all three very happy to have the next day off before a round of house shows leading into the pay-per-view. Scarlett said her goodbyes, going to her room, ready for pajamas and maybe a movie assuming Colby wasn't asleep already. When she entered her room, she got a surprise though.

Colby wasn't there.

Jon was.

He was sat on the bed- her bed- silently thumbing through his phone. When she came in, he looked up and put his phone to the side, looking up at her with a heavy sigh.

"Joe and Colby said we had to work out our shit before we could travel anymore. Something about refusing to be in a car with someone as sad as you and as grumpy as me. Also, Colby said he needed someone to sing with."

She smiled softly at that. She could just picture the big guy and her two-toned sweetheart cornering the mad lunatic, telling him to settle things so that they could have a pop sing-along in the car. Walking up and sitting beside him, she folded her hands in her lap so that she wouldn't try to touch him until he was ready for her to.

"Yeah, Brie and Nikki said we needed to talk as well. Do you mind if I go first?"

He shrugged, "By all means."

"Ok," she said, taking a deep breath, "You remember in Baltimore when you told me that if I ever wanted to talk about how Phil and I ended, you'd listen?"

He slowly nodded, "I do."

"Well, I'd like to tell you if you'd listen."

He again nodded.

"I was with Phil for three years and had been living with him in Chicago for nearly a year. I was happy and I thought he was too. But apparently not. It was December 18th and my father had given me two days off so that Phil and I could have a little together time for Christmas in Chicago. It's so pretty there when the whole city is done up and I wanted to see it instead of being on the road the whole time. So I got on a flight home and was so excited and I wanted to surprise Phil, ya know, so I didn't call him to say I was on my way. I got home and at first, I heard nothing. But the closer I got to the bedroom, I heard someone- a woman- moaning. At first, I thought maybe Phil was watching porn or something which would've been alright. Hell, we were pretty active in the sex department so if we were away from each other for a few days, I didn't mind if he got off to some video or whatever. Anyway, so I thought it was that, but then the woman yelled out Phil's name. And...and...my heart, I can't even describe what that feeling was like. Pulverizing, maybe. My inner curiosity had to know, though, so I dropped all my shit and practically ran the rest of the way."

She stopped to take a deep breath. She looked down and noticed her hands were shaking slightly. She rubbed them on her pants a few times, trying to calm herself down. Jon noticed this and slowly reached over, taking her hands softly. He stood up, bringing her with him. He let go momentarily to pile all the pillows up, fluffing them softly. Grabbing her hands again, he sat her down against the mountain of cotton. She let one leg hang off the bed while folding the other beneath her. He mirrored her actions, sitting directly across from her, still holding her hands. Once they were settled, he squeezed them softly, urging her on. She smiled and nodded, ready to continue.

"It was AJ. I got to the door and my brain couldn't exactly process what was happening at first. They were in my bed- our bed- and AJ was on her back and Phil was going down on her. Her hands were in his hair and she was making all these noises, clearly enjoying herself. I couldn't do anything but stare for a second, but finally I got my wits back and I made my presence known."

Jon smirked, "How'd you do that?"

"Phil had this hockey puck right by the door in a little glass box. It was signed by some guy named Stan and it was one of his prized possessions. So I took it and threw it down. The glass shattered and the puck rolled away somewhere. Never found it afterwards. Anyway, it got their attention and both of them froze looking at me. AJ sat up and tried to find something to cover herself, but Phil stopped her. He looked at me and asked what the hell I was doing there. I wasn't supposed to be home at all. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was doing what he wanted to do. He pushed her onto her back again and held her down with one hand on her chest. And then...he put two fingers in her and started fucking her with them. I yelled at him to stop but he said he wouldn't. He kept doing it but talking to me at the same time. He said I probably had questions and he'd answer them. He told me that they had been fucking for close to three months. I got even more angry then because he'd been sleeping with me the whole time too. Constantly with no complaints. When I said that, he shrugged- fucking shrugged- and said he'd done what he had to do. AJ, meanwhile, was writhing on the bed- my bed- and trying to keep quiet. Kinda like she was enjoying herself but didn't want any of my attention. Phil kept talking, just going on and on about how anytime they fucked, it was always in that bed. Never anywhere else. I asked him why he was still with me then. Why not just break up with me and then start seeing her, if that's what he wanted? He looked at me like I was a complete dumbass, which wasn't too off the mark, I guess. He said he was a businessman, an opportunistic businessman. As long as he was with me and everyone believed we were happy, he'd get the best opportunities, the push, the money. He said that was the only reason he was with me to begin with. He never loved me and had been cheating the whole time."

Somewhere during this rehash, she'd ended up in Jon's lap, straddling his lap with her arms looped around his neck. His massive hands rested on the small of her back, supporting her through the pain of telling her sad, embarrassing story. She didn't know how she got there, but she didn't care. He wasn't pushing her away and to get through the next part of the story, she needed all the strength he could give her.

"He was still talking about how he hated being around me and my family, but did it for his career, when AJ let out a massive scream. He gave her an orgasm right in front of me, Jon. I was stuck still and he had a massive smile on his face and everything was spinning in my head and I just couldn't take it anymore. All my reasoning and sanity flew out the door and...I kinda lost it."

"What did you do?"

"I ran into my closet and got my baseball bat."

Jon couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Oh shit..."

"Yeah, all I can remember from that night is Phil and April's faces when I came back out with it. They scrambled out of there, still naked, but I didn't give a shit about that. I destroyed everything that was his. Everything I could break, I did. And then I fell onto the couch, crying, and I fell asleep there. The next morning, Brie woke me up. Phil had called her when he heard shit breaking and she'd come to Chicago immediately. I remember sitting up and looking around and...fuck me, there was glass everywhere. I had knocked the tv off the wall and it was shattered. All the shit on the tables and the bar in the kitchen was scattered everywhere. I had gone crazy. Brie sat with me and I told her the whole story. She's the only one who knows except for you now. Phil hadn't told her anything, just that he was afraid, but once I got done talking, she wanted to find him and rip him apart. She didn't blame me for anything. She hugged me and let me cry on her for hours. Then she helped me pack all my shit and get out of there. We flew back to where the show was in San Antonio."

Jon rubbed her back slowly, "I remember seeing you that night. You looked awful. Beautiful still, but like someone shot your puppy."

"That must've been when I came into the arena. I immediately found my sister and holed up in her office the whole night. I explained that I needed some time off. I was in no frame of mind to do anything, never mind my job. I told her that Phil and I were done and that he had cheated but I didn't say with who. She wanted to fire him on the spot but that would've just gotten us sued and I told her that. She gave me the time and I came back a week later in much better spirits. Not anywhere near good, but I wasn't compulsively breaking down in tears either. I was ready to work though, I needed to work, to get back into that routine so that I didn't think about that night all the time. Everyone welcomed me back with open arms and I was fine. Until I saw Phil. He walked up to the gorilla and the look on his face. At first, I think he was shocked that I was there but he covered it up quickly. I think he had expected me to quit and then after I didn't, I think he just tried to make my life hell. He said he'd spent all day cleaning up his apartment and he expected me to buy him new shit. When I said I'd do no such thing, he said he'd sue me and I told him to go right ahead because then I'd tell Stephanie and Dad exactly what he did. I knew, and he did too, that if I did that, he'd be gone. They'd find some way to get rid of him. I didn't know that Stephanie was going to pull him off the main event at Wrestlemania anyway. That was her way of punishing him without firing him. Ever since then, I don't know what it is, it's like Phil and AJ just wanted to piss me off all the time. I tried and tried to let it go, but yesterday was too much."

She looked up at him then, the first time she'd done so since sitting in his lap. There were tears in her eyes that had yet to spill over. She raised a hand to the back of his neck, softly running her fingers through the curls at the nape of his neck.

"I'm so sorry I did that to you. It was just like that night again, I lost control. I know you have your doubts, but I do not have any feelings for him anymore. Well, that's not exactly true. I...I hate him. I never thought myself capable of that. Strong dislike, irritation, sure I have those all the time, but I never thought I could actively hate someone. Hell, if you'd ask me the morning of December 18th, I would've said there was no chance...but I do. I hate what he did to me, I hate that he has absolutely no remorse for it, and I fucking hate that he wasted so much of my goddamn time. I'm 27 years old and he wasted three years that I could've been looking for someone else who would've actually loved me for me. Three years that I could've been happy with someone who deserved my affections. Someone like you."

Her eyes shone then, showing him the happiness he gave her.

"Jon, I know we just started this thing between us but...I don't know. I feel like I'm more alive now that I have been in years. I want this to continue, but if you can't or you need time to think, I'll understand. I'll be really sad but I'll understand."

His answer was to bring her face down to his, kissing her softly. She returned it in earnest, pouring her all into showing him how much he meant to her. When they parted, she rested her forehead against his, just enjoying the closeness.

"Does this mean you forgive me?"

His eyes met hers, "You have to promise to never do anything like that again."

"I won't, I promise. I'll walk away or, even better, you can just beat the shit out of him."

"After hearing what he did, I'd be more than happy too."

She smiled broadly, "So...you and me, we're ok?"

He gave her a grin of his own in return, "Yes, we're ok."

She pulled her back into his arms and hugged him hard.

"Thank you. I'm so happy! Col and Joe will be too. No more silent car rides!"

"Oh god, that means you guys are going to sing all the time, right?"

"Yep! But we can also do this in the backseat," she leaned into him, kissing him hard.

"Hmmm, I think I could used to that. Now, change out of these clothes because I'm exhausted. Let's go to bed."

She did as he asked. Washing her face and pulling all the bobby pins out of her updo, she walked back into the main part of the room. Jon was already in bed, watching her grab her phone and turn around, eyeing him questioningly. She pointed between the two beds, asking him silently where she was sleeping. He rolled his eyes before pulling the covers back.

"You better get your sexy ass in here."

She smiled broadly, getting in and pulling the covers back up. Setting her alarm and putting it on the nightstand beside her, she felt his hand on her hip, pulling her back into his chest. He snaked an arm around her stomach while the other went under her head. He buried his face in her hair that he loved and she absent-mindedly rubbed his forearm with her fingers, loving the feeling of safety and protection he provided.

"Jon..."

"Yeah darlin?"

"Tell me the story."

"What story?"

"About when you saw me for the first time. I'd love to hear it."

She could hear him chuckle behind her as he slowly kissed the back of her head. He pulled her even closer before speaking.

"Scarlett, the first time I ever saw you, I was sitting in catering. It was Survivor Series..."

*********khan*********

(Peeking from behind the couch) HAPPINESS IN THE KINGDOM ONCE AGAIN! I hope you all liked it! I have tomorrow off so hopefully I can get the next one typed up and ready by tomorrow night. Until then, see y'all. XOXO


	8. Crazy on You

Alright, finally got this one typed up. Sorry to make you lovelies wait. This chapter goes out to **Nattiebroskette, xSamiliciousx, HisMnkyPrincess, UntilNeverDawns **and **dreamin'BIG**. Each review makes me so very very happy and joyful. So the reason this didn't get typed up earlier was because I went through and made an extensive outline, just to keep all my thoughts straight the further we get into this gem. Right now, we're looking at around 35 chapters that I hope to have done by the end of the year. Not promising anything, but hopefully the end of this story will be my christmas present to all of you.

The song for this chapter is _Crazy on You_ by Heart. I have always wanted to do it at karaoke and can never get up the nerve. Not that I get nervous about singing, but it's freakin' Heart! You do not ruin their songs and my pipes aren't that good.

*********khan*********

_May 4th, 2014- East Rutherford, New Jersey_

Extreme Rules was in full swing and the Shield were in the ring, battling hard with Evolution. Scarlett was in the gorilla, yelling the cameramen through her headset to keep their shots steady. There was a lot of action going on and she didn't want to miss anything, things having completely broken down in the ring. All the guys were paired off, beating the hell out of each other. Joe and Dave Batista were battling through the crowd, taking turns throwing each other into the concrete walls. She winced everytime Joe did as his body took the brunt of Dave's stiff style. She knew the gentle giant would be in need of a hard rub down and make a tall drink later.

Colby was paired with Randy Orton and they were rampaging all around ringside. Randy had a little more finesse so she didn't worry so much about her two-toned ninja. He wouldn't go completely unscathed from getting thrown into steel steps and ring posts, but a couple of ice packs and a massage and he'd be fine.

That left Jon and Hunter in the ring. Scarlett realized the importance of this even if her lunatic didn't. Paul was testing him in the spotlight; that's why they were together in the ring. He wanted to see if this guy everyone raved about was up to snuff. Scarlett knew he was and Jon was proving her right. He was going move for move with Paul, even going a little faster than his boss. The fluidity between the two was breathtaking at times and Scarlett had to remember to breath at one point.

The match ended with the Shield victorious and she could see the exhilaration on their faces as they came back through the curtain. They weren't showing any pain, their adrenaline saving them from lingering aches. The boys- her boys- descended on her, wrapping themselves around her and each other in a huge group hug.

"Scarlett, did you see?!" "How'd we look, baby girl?" "Darlin, that was the best match ever!"

She laughed at their gigantic smiles and leaned against Jon, "You guys were great! Couldn't have been better!"

The men of Evolution came through the curtain soon afterwards. She told Paul and Randy how good they looked, purposefully not even glancing at Dave. Paul thanked his sister-in-law, turning his attention to the younger men, shaking all of their hands.

"Fellas, that's what I love. Did you hear that crowd? The energy out there was exactly what we need to be generating. This only means bigger and better for you boys."

He left with Randy and Dave trailing behind him, leaving the foursome talking excitedly between themselves. Scarlett felt Jon's hand on her hip and turned her head, smiling up at him before he leaned down, kissing her gently.

"You guys feel up to coming out?"

Joe answered quickly, "Not me. I'm going to get one of the trainers to rub me down and I'm going to sleep. Dave fucking about killed me."

"Yeah, I saw that. He's such a dick, but Paul loves him for some reason. Go get Kelly, she's the best one at massage."

"Will do, baby girl. You guys going out?"

Both Colby and Jon said yes.

"Alright, Col, please don't make too much noise coming back in later. I know how you are when you're drunk."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think he means," Scarlett interjected, "that we don't need a repeat of Ninja Spice."

"Fuck! I thought you guys would forget about that."

Jon laughed, "Dude, it was three days ago."

"Whatever, I love the Spice Girls and if I want to sing it at the top of my lungs at three in the morning, then I will!"

Scarlett gave him a high-five, "You go, girl!"

Colby rolled his eyes, "Shut up!"

"Never! Alright, let me finish up here while you guys hit the showers and I'll meet you out by the car."

The trio of men started to walk away but Scarlett caught Jon's hand, quickly pulling him back to her. His grin matched hers as he came to stand in between her dangling legs. She pulled him down to kiss him, letting it be lazy and languid before he pulled back slowly.

"You did so great. I'm proud of you, g-man."

"Thanks, sweetheart. I'll see you in a bit."

Leaning down to give her one last quick kiss, he turned and walked away, not letting their fingers separate until the absolute last moment.

To celebrate the success of the pay-per-view, Nikki had decreed they were going clubbing. After dropping all their stuff off at the hotel, they took cabs across the Hudson into Manhattan, arriving at the Village Underground. Quickly grabbing the large table reserved for them, the boys all went up to get drinks for everyone. Jon and Colby sat on either side of Scarlett while Nikki, Brie, John, Bryan, Trinity and the Fatu brothers were filling up the other sides of the table. They all did shots to get the night started and after about 30 minutes, the whole table was buzzing with talk about the night's events.

Nikki screamed as Britney Spears came on the speakers.

"Oh my god, we have to dance! Come on, everyone!"

All the girls gladly followed while all the guys begged off, promising to join later. Jon took the time to talk to Josh and Jonathon since he never got to work with them. He tried to keep the conversation going, but he kept getting distracted everytime he looked at Scarlett, her body swaying rhythmically to the pounding bass. The twins eventually laughed at him, snapping his thoughts away from her lithe body.

"What was that? Sorry guys."

Josh kept grinning, "Dude, you got it baaaad. That girl got you hooked around her finger tighter than anything I ever seen."

Jon couldn't hide his blush, "What can I say? She's a special girl."

"Just be careful, man. You're swimming into dangerous territory."

Jon quirked his eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"Man, she's the boss's daughter. You always gotta remember that."

"I know, but she doesn't act like the rest of them. She's more one of us."

"That may be true, dude, but her last name is McMahon and, if she got fucked over, their retaliation would be quick and painful. Just keep it in mind, man, don't mean no disrespect."

Jon clapped the man on the shoulder, "I know, thanks for looking out, but I'm never gonna hurt her. The McMahons would be the last thing I'd have to worry about. There'd be 10 to 15 others in front of them, starting with those twins over there."

The party continued into the wee hours. They all danced, even Jon when Scarlett pulled him onto the floor, with Colby and Bryan's help, and they did a little bump and grind to R. Kelly. The group was having so much fun that they didn't even notice April and Saraya come in. The girls kept dancing with Jonathan, Josh and Colby while Jon went to go get another bourbon for himself and a vodka sprite and water for Scarlett, knowing she must be getting dehydrated. He'd just gotten back to the table and he saw John and Bryan playing pool at the very back of the club. Sitting down to the empty table, he leaned back and closed his eyes, allowing himself the quiet moment.

"Well, hey love, you want some company?"

His eyes snapped open to find Saraya sitting right next to him. How had she gotten so close? Damn, he thought Colby was a ninja.

"Uh, no I'm good, Saraya."

"You sure?" she asked, curling under his arm that was residing on the back of the booth, "I'm real good company."

He felt her hand on his thigh and shifted away quickly, looking at her with annoyance.

"Listen, in case you hadn't noticed, I'm here with someone."

"Let me guess, Scarlett. I hadn't heard anything about you two before. Are you guys exclusive?"

"Well...no but that doesn't matter. I'm with her."

"Then why aren't you up there with her? She looks like she's having the time of her life and that has nothing to do with you."

He sighed, the English girl had a point. Scarlett was living it up on the dance floor being spun around by Colby and Josh and laughing and smiling to her heart's content. He didn't know if he could ever make her feel like that. His expression dropped and Saraya used the opportunity to slide under his arm again, this time placing her hand on his chest.

"It's ok, love, I can take care of you."

He was just about to push her off again when...

"WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK IS THIS?"

Scarlett stood in front of the table, hands poised on her hips and balled into fists. Jon quickly slid away from the ghostly girl next to him and looked behind her. The entire group, except for the boys playing pool, stood at the edge of the dance floor, watching with rapt attention. Nikki and Brie caught his glance and looked absolutely homicidal.

"Scarlett, nothing is going on!"

"Oh really, that's why she's all over you!"

Saraya smirked up at her, "Honey, Jon's a hot piece of real estate and he looked so lonely over here all by himself. You didn't look like you cared so why couldn't I have a shot? He seemed to be coming around too."

Too many clichés could be used to describe the expression on Scarlett's face. If looks could kill, steam coming out of her ears, etc., etc. Jon didn't care, all he knew was that he was frightened. Not just for himself, but for anyone who got in her way. Namely Saraya, but Scarlett did something then that surprised him. She took a deep breath in, exhaled and rolled her shoulders back. She pointed a finger at the british import and said in the most calm, steely voice:

"If you know what is fucking good for you and your safety, you will go back to whatever gutter you crawled out of tonight and stay there with all the other sluts. If I see you before the show tomorrow, I will not be responsible for anything I do to you, including ending your career by bashing your stupid fucking birdshit of a brain in. Do you understand me, whore?"

Saraya got up from the booth, slowly stepping up Scarlett, sizing the older woman up. Even though she wasn't a short, scrawny thing like April, Scarlett still had an inch or two on her and was glaring menacingly down at her. Saving her battle for another day, she backed up a step before looking at Jon one last time.

"If you ever get tired of this one, call me."

Jon shook his head slowly. What had this girl gotten him into? Scarlett stared after Saraya until she returned to her table with April. Only once she was seated did Scarlett slowly turn towards Jon, a look of rage still very present on her face.

"Baby..."

She grabbed her bag off the table and stormed away, heels clicking as she stomped her way outside. He raced after her, calling her name but to no avail. She disappeared out the door and he followed her out five seconds later. She was marching towards an available parked cab and he jolted into action, reaching her just as she opened the door. Whipping around, she fixed her glare on him.

"Don't you dare get in here with me!"

The venom in her voice surprised him. He hadn't done anything wrong. Why was he getting shit on? He answered her back in an annoyed tone.

"What'll you do if I do get in, huh?"

"Jon, don't test me right now!"

"No, Scarlett, you're going to talk to me. We're going to behave like fucking adults because I'm not going back to silent fucking car rides. Now get your ass in the cab so we can go to the hotel and talk."

Her eyes- those orbs of emerald that usually only held lightness in them- were dark and stormy, but she slid into the cab with not a single word further. He followed her and gave the driver the address of the hotel. Her hand was fisted between them. He thought about grabbing it and trying to talk to her there, but he didn't want to take the chance of getting punched or scratched or anything with the mood she was in. Once they got to the hotel, she jumped out while he paid the cabbie. She stomped to the elevator and he barely got to it before she closed the door in his face.

"Scarlett, what the fuck? You're acting like a child."

She crossed her arms and refused to look at him, much less speak. He was exasperated to say the least. When the doors opened with a ding, she shot like a rocket out of the elevator. When she got to the door, she let out a huff of annoyance, forgetting that he had the room key. She just paced in front of the door while he leisurely strolled up. He opened the door and she bolted in, heading to the backroom and locking the door behind her. He sighed in frustration, what the hell was happening?

He heard the shower come on and groaned out loud. She was going to be there forever and there was nothing he could do about it. She didn't want to talk to him, that was glaringly obvious. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he looked at the offending object.

_You guys alright?_

It was from Colby and Jon didn't hide any of his frustration.

_I don't know. We're back at the hotel and she won't talk to me. Locked herself in the fucking bathroom._

The next sound he heard was the beep of Scarlett's text notification going off in the bathroom. Wasn't she in the shower? He stepped closer to the door and leaned his ear against the door. He definitely heard the shower, but there was something else too. His heart pounded as he realized she was crying. He could hear her sniffles and gasps for air. Fuck, he thought. He realized he needed a little outside help for this one. He texted Colby again.

_She's crying in the bathroom, goddammit, what did I do? Nothing happened with me and Saraya!_

He only had to wait seconds for the response.

_From where we were standing, it looked like something._

Goddammit, he couldn't believe this was happening. She probably thought he was chatting up another girl and, with what Phil had done to her, she had assumed the worst. Fuck! He had to calm down and in turn, calm her down. He had to explain and reassure her that he didn't want or need anybody else. He only wanted her, no matter what. Coming close to the door again, he again heard the beep of her phone.

"Scar," he said, knocking softly. No response. Fuck it, he thought, just talk and maybe she'll listen.

"Scarlett, baby, I'm sorry. I know what it probably looked like, but I can tell you that nothing happened and nothing was gonna happen. I was lost in my thoughts and she took advantage and made it look like something it wasn't. I have no interest in her whatsoever. It's only you, baby, only you. Scarlett, please talk to me."

Nothing.

"Scarlett, I know you're not in the shower. I've heard your phone going off this entire time. Please...please, baby, please. Unlock the door."

He leaned against the door frame, patiently waiting, until he heard the door lock turn. He slowly twisted the handle and pushed the door open. He took in her position, sitting on the floor in a heap, leaning against the tub. He sat down, squeezing his large frame in between her and the closed toilet.

"Talk to me, please."

Her face was forlorn as her eyes met his, mascara streaked down her face. Her gorgeous eyes were red and puffy. He reached into the shower and grabbed a washcloth, wetting it under the still-running shower. He pulled her somewhat resistant frame into his lap and slowly wiped her face, cleaning her up while caressing the back of her head with his other hand. Her sniffles subsided and she leaned her head into his hand.

"Everybody leaves me, Jon. Phil left, all my other boyfriends always left me for someone else. Phil was the first one who ever cheated but the rest...they all met someone else and broke it off. You're going to do the same thing. If not tonight, then eventually, you men are all the same."

Jon despaired at the sad hopelessness in her voice. She'd been fucked over so many times and here she was thinking that he was just the same as them. He pulled her face down, kissing her as hard as he could. He gave her all of himself, leaving both of them breathless when the need for oxygen forced them apart.

"Scarlett, you listen to me and you listen good, dammit. I am not those other men. I've been left too and I know it hurts like a bitch. My family wasn't good for anything except leaving and I would never inflict that kind of punishment on anybody I cared about. I know what Phil did, you told me and I want to kill that son of a bitch for hurting you like that. I care about you too goddamn much to ever do that to you."

He kissed her again and this time, she kissed him back with a frenetic energy. Her hands ran into his hair the same way his hands were in hers. Their kisses were wild and desperate, each needing a validation of some sort. She broke away, her chest heaving and her eyes boring into his.

"Jon..."

"You believe me, right?"

"I...I want to."

Again, he crashed his lips to her. When they broke apart this time, he kept their foreheads pressed together.

"What can I do to show you how much I feel for you? Scarlett, dammit, I don't want anyone else but you. I couldn't even try to be with anybody else...not when...fuck..."

"Not when what?"

He stared into her feral eyes, "Not when I'm so in love with you."

She sucked in a breath, eyes wider than he'd ever seen them before.

"Jon...what..."

"It's true. I've was half in love with you when I first saw you at Survivor Series and then once I got to really know you, I was so into you that I couldn't even breath most of the time I was around you. If you don't believe me, ask Col and Joe. They've known how I felt about you the entire time. I love you, Scar, plain and simple. I love you."

He stared into her eyes the whole time and she knew he was telling the absolute truth. His soulful blue eyes were completely open windows to her and she almost started crying again, this time from happiness.

"Show me."

"Huh..."

She leaned down capturing his lips, "Show me how much you love me."

She ground her hips against his and he quickly got the message. His hands pulled her hips down again as their tongues dueled for supremacy. Her legs wrapped around him and he carefully got to his feet, picking her up and carrying her to the bed. He put her down gently and tried to lean up to take his shirt off but she clung to him like he was a life-preserver. He didn't have to worry for very long as her hands eventually untethered from his neck and she ran her hands over his abdomen, pulling his shirt up for him. He sat up, bringing her with him. His eyes were wild as he tugged her dress up and off her body, leaving her in just her black, lacy bra and panties. He groaned out loud.

"Goddamn girl..."

A blush crept up her neck and she actually looked a little meek, "You like?"

"I fucking love. Come here."

They met in another kiss, this one sweeter and more tender. She pushed him onto his back, kissing down his chest. Her hands worked on his belt buckle and pulled his shorts and boxers down in one sweep, watching his erection spring to life. A growl escaped her throat at the size of him. He was going to stretch her beautifully. She crawled back up about to pleasure him when he wrapped his hand in her hair, pulling her up to him.

"Baby, I'd love to have my dick in the hot little mouth of yours, but if you do it, I'm not gonna last very long. Besides, tonight's all about you."

She was about to protest when he flipped them, receiving a gasp of surprise when he pinned her to the bed, holding her hands above her head. Leaning down, he caught her earlobe in his teeth before whispering to her.

"And don't you worry about me, darlin, I'm going to bury myself in you...to the hilt. Just thinking about it makes me wanna explode."

Using his free hand, he reached around her, unclasping her bra and pushing it up her arms until it was in their hands. Leaning down, he captured one nipple in his mouth grabbing her other mound with his hand, squeezing and rolling her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, eliciting a moan from his lover. When both breasts had received proper attention, he trailed his hand down her taut abs before stroking her through her underwear. He still held her hands tight above her head but she was struggling, wanting free, needing to touch him.

"Baby, you trust me?"

Her eyes searched his momentarily, "Yes."

"Then grab the bar. There, on the headboard."

She did as she was told, eyeing him warily, and he smirked before crashing his lips to hers. Taking advantage of this distraction, he grabbed her bra and quickly wrapped it around her wrists and tied her to the bar. She didn't even notice until he tightened the knot and then she gasped.

"Jon..."

"Trust me, ok?"

"Don't make me rip my bra. It's one of my favorites."

He gave her a smile full of mischief, "Well then, I suggest you hold onto that bar for dear life."

He hooked his thumbs in her soaked panties and pulled them slowly off, throwing them to the side and taking her knees. He spread them gently, opening her up and nearly going off the edge at what lay before him.

"Baby, you have the most beautiful pussy I've ever seen."

A blush stained her face pink, a small smile creeping onto her face before she bit her lip in anticipation. That motion had him groaning and he reached out, softly running his finger up her folds.

"Girl, that lip biting's got to go. You look too damn sexy and all I wanna do bite you in the same spot."

His fingers spread her open and he inserted one, then two fingers in her, pumping slowly, while brushing her clit with his thumb. Her mouth opened with a deep moan, her head back and her hands gripping tightly onto the bar.

"Oh god, that feels good, baby."

Her hips moved, meeting his thrusts, and he leaned down, alternately kissing and biting her thighs gently, making her whimper. He got closer and closer to her center until he took his thumb off her button and replaced it with his tongue, flicking and sucking with skilled precision. Increasing the pressure and speed of his fingers, her back flew off the mattress, her thighs closing around his head.

"Fuck Jon!"

Her whimpers increased in pitch and he worked her over furiously. He could see a sheen of sweat forming on her body. Before long, he could feel her walls starting to flutter around his fingers, signaling her impending orgasm. He sped up even more, sucking as hard as he could on her clit, making the sounds coming out of her almost guttural.

"Jon, Jon, god I'm gonna...fuck, I'm so...oh my god!"

She screamed out as she came all over his fingers, body tense and writhing as he rode her through her high. When she collapsed back onto the bed, he pulled his fingers out, licking her clean and crawling up her body, dropping lazy kisses over her stomach and breasts until he got to her mouth, kissing her deeply, letting her taste herself on his tongue. He reached up and untied her, her arms instantly looping around his neck and pulling him further into her.

"Jon, oh my god, that was so amazing. I think I need a minute."

He flopped onto his back, pulling her with him.

"You take as much time as you need, baby."

"Jon, can I ask you something?"

"Anything, darlin."

"So, you don't want anybody else?"

"Absolutely not."

He felt her smile against his chest, "Good, neither do I."

Her head rose so her chin rested above his heart, a smile on her gorgeous face, "So...can I call you my boyfriend then?"

He chuckled softly, wrapping a hand in her luscious hair, "As long as I can call you my girlfriend."

She nodded excitedly, edging up until her lips were on his. He couldn't believe how amazing he felt. After all this time, she was finally his, all his.

She reached down between them, grasping him in her small hand. He moaned into her mouth, failing to keep silent when she positioned him and slowly impaled herself with his long, thick shaft. Her eyes fluttered shut as his hands found purchase on her hips.

"Jon, jesus christ..."

"You ok, Scar?"

"God yes, you feel amazing."

"So do you, sweetheart. Absolutely fucking amazing."

She slowly started to move, finding a rhythm and speeding up gradually. Her hot, wet heat encapsulated him and he didn't stop anything the groans and words of encouragement that flowed out of his mouth. Neither did she. Her rocking eventually sped up to the point that she didn't know where she ended and he began. He thrusted up into her, slamming his hips into her. Everytime his dick hit her g-spot, she let out a small yelp. Both of their bodies were covered in sweat, barreling toward their shared bliss.

"Jon, fuck, I'm so close...shit, baby."

He was close too but he wanted her right there with him. He reached over and started rubbing her clit with his thumb, making her see stars. She yelled out, almost in ecstasy.

"That's right, let go baby. I want you to scream. I want this whole place to know who your pussy belongs to. Let go!"

She did, clamping down around him, screaming his name with her head thrown back gloriously. The site of her falling over the edge had him following just after, groaning out her name and collapsing back onto the bed, her on top of him. Their chests were stuck together and heaving, their limbs a tangled mess. Her hair was everywhere and he tried to get it off her back and neck, knowing it must be hot. She slowly lifted herself off him, both groaning at the tightness. She fell to his side, throwing a leg over his with an arm around his stomach. He had one arm around her shoulder, splayed down her back and the other had a hold of her arm. Once their breathing was under control, he leaned down and kissed her softly.

"You're mine now, you realize that? If a guy so much as looks at you, he's going to have me to deal with."

She smiled softly, "And if any girls get near you, they can expect the same from me. You're mine too, Jon."

Leaning back, he stretched out, loving the feeling of having her naked up against him.

"Jon, do you want me to pull the covers up?"

"Absolutely not, it's fucking hot in here."

She laughed, "Ok, good night, baby."

"Night, Scar. I love you."

He knew she couldn't say it back, not yet, but he could feel her smile against his skin and her kiss against his heart and that was good enough.

"I know."

His phone buzzed on the nightstand. Grabbing it and reading the text from Colby, he let out a deep throaty laugh. Scarlett smiled up at him, loving the sound.

"What is it?"

He turned his phone toward her so she could read it and it wasn't long before her peals of laughter rang out too.

_Glad you guys worked it out, but you kept me up and woke Joe up. We expect apologies in the morning...and breakfast. Good night!_

*********khan*********

You guys love me, right? RIGHT?! I love you guys for every review and favorite and follow, preferably all three at the same time. **winkwink** Until next time, XOXO


	9. Say My Name

Oh my god, I have to at work in four hours and need sleep but wanted to get this one out before. This is how much I love you guys to pieces! Seriously, every review and favorite and follow just warms my heart and makes me smile. I love when my email notification goes off cause I know it's something awesome from you guys. My huge thanks for this chapter go out to **nattiebroskette, HisMnkyPrincess, UntilNeverDawns, xSamiliciousx, kittybarrett **and **Starkittie**!

The song for this chapter is _Say My Name_ by Destiny's Child. Cause for real, you can't have no party without Beyonce! True fact!

*********khan*********

_June 1st, 2014- Chicago, IL_

Another month had gone by and another pay-per-view was in the bag. Payback had been extremely successful, especially for Scarlett's boys in the Shield. They had faced Evolution in an elimination match and had come out unscathed, conquering and destroying everything in their path. Back in the locker room after the show, the smiles on their faces were infectious and made Scarlett giddy. She couldn't wait for the night that was about to begin.

You see, the next day was her birthday but since the whole crew was there and they were in her old hometown, her beloved Chicago, everyone was going to be there. Literally, everyone. Jon and Nikki had planned the whole thing and bought out her favorite karaoke bar, Louie's Pub, for the night. Only WWE personnel were allowed in and there were a few names on the Can't Come In list, namely Phil, April and Saraya. They were all going to have a good night and nothing would get in the way.

After getting to the bar, Scarlett was sat at a table right up front and presented with a tiara by Brie. Grabbing the mic, Brie informed the crowd that since Scarlett was now officially the queen of the night, she had veto power over any songs done. Scarlett yelled out loudly that she wouldn't squash anyone down.

"I'm not my sister, ya know!"

That got a raucous laugh from the nearly 50 people filling the place. Brie called Jon, Joe, Colby, Bryan, Nikki and Glenn onstage.

"Now, we are all here to celebrate our friend, Scarlett McMahon..."

Colby jerked the mic towards him, "Evelyn Scarlett McMahon."

Scarlett's eyes went wide and she had to be restrained in her chair by John and Nick.

"Fuck you, douchebag!"

Colby smiled big, "Love you too!"

"Alright, alright," Brie continued, "we are here to celebrate Miss Scarlett's thirtieth birthday!"

Scarlett sighed out loud, "FUCK YOU TOO, BITCH! I am twenty fucking eight!"

"Oh, excuse me, thought you were older cause of those tiny crows' feet popping up."

She couldn't help the laugh that escaped her, "Alright, just pile it all on now. Get it out, you assholes! You guys are all buying me shots later though and remember, I give just as good as I get!"

They all laughed with her before Brie spoke again.

"Alright, let's get this one fucking song out of the way so we can get this party started. And all you guys better sing! Don't make me and Nik drag you up here one by one," she threatened, smiling at her best friend, starting to sing.

"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear Scarlett! Happy birthday to you!"

Everybody sang with her and Scarlett blushed from head to toe. Even though she loved to sing, she hated being the center of attention like this. Everybody clapped and cheered and the main group came back, hugging her each in turn. Jon waited until last, scooping her up in his big arms, twirling her around before putting her back down and planting a kiss on her lips.

"You ready for a good time?"

She couldn't help but smile at her boyfriend, "Hell yes!"

Bryan and Joe brought over the first round of shots and they cheers to Scarlett, throwing them back. Jonathan and Josh started off the night, going right into it, with Whoomp! There It Is. From there, everybody had their fill, dedicating their first songs to her. Trinity and Layla gave her a rousing rendition of Miley Cyrus's Party in the USA followed by Nick giving her a lap dance while wailing I'm Too Sexy by Right Said Fred. Jon sat right behind her and glared at him the entire time, especially since she seemed to be enjoying herself. After the song finished, Nick kissed her on the cheek and she turned around, a bit of pink on her cheeks. She shifted into Jon's lap, looping her arms around his neck.

"I could hear you huffing and puffing behind us. You ok?"

He rolled his eyes as Mike and Kofi got to do The Proclaimers' I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles), "Yeah I'm fine. I just don't like other people rubbing their junk on what's mine."

She smiled and leaned down, whispering in his ear, "Aw poor baby, your pouty lip is so cute. But like you said, my body is yours. Nobody else is gonna get it. And Nick is just a friend. You're my g-man."

Leaning back, she kissed him on the lips, standing up to go talk to the DJ, a wicked grin on her face. She joined the boys in the last chorus, bouncing up and down happily. When the song ended, she took the mic from Kofi and the DJ got everybody's attention.

"Alright guys, you ready for the birthday girl to finally sing? I've known her for a long time and, if you've never heard these pipes, you are in for a treat. Give a big hand to our girl, Scarlett!"

Christina Aguilera's Genie in a Bottle hit the speakers and all the girls cheered. Scarlett trained her eyes on Jon, who was a little scared. He knew something was coming.

_I feel like I've been locked up tight_  
><em>For a century of lonely nights<em>  
><em>Waiting for someone to release me<em>  
><em>You're lickin' your lips<em>  
><em>And blowing kisses my way<em>  
><em>But that don't mean I'm gonna give it away<em>  
><em>Baby, baby, baby<em>  
><em>Ooohhh, my body's sayin' let's go<em>  
><em>Ooohhh, but my heart is sayin' no<em>  
><em>If you wanna be with me<em>  
><em>Baby there's a price to pay<em>  
><em>I'm a genie in a bottle<em>  
><em>You gotta rub me the right way<em>

By the time she got to the last line of the first chorus, she was giving him the most teasing dance of his life. She would straddle him first, slowly grinding her hips against his and then back up and turn around rubbing her ass against his erection. Anytime he would try to grab her hips, she'd playfully swat him away and stand up, dancing directly in front of him, shaking and rolling her hips seductively. By the end, he wanted her so badly that, if they were in a room full of strangers and not coworkers, he would've dragged her down to the bathroom and had his way with her right then and there.

From there, a few country songs were sung and they had the whole, decidedly drunk, crowd singing along. The Wyatt family- Windham, Huber and Joseph- and Windham's younger brother Taylor did Family Tradition by Hank Williams Jr. Cody and his wife Brandi did a very sweet rendition of Picture by Sheryl Crowe and Kid Rock. But the highlight was JBL himself twanging his way through George Strait's All My Exes, bringing the absolute house down.

Everyone wanted to do duets with Scarlett and she was promptly pulled onstage many times with no idea of what she was singing. The first time was by Nikki and Brie to do say Destiny's Child's Say My Name, a very pleasing song for their respective mates. Booker got her up to do Proud Mary by Ike and Tina Turner. She laughed because all he had to do was speak the opening part leaving her to wail her lungs out, but she enjoyed him and hugged him afterwards. She was dragged up by Bryan to do 6th Avenue Heartache by the Wallflowers and just when she thought she was done, a puppy by the name of Colby dropped to his knees in front of her, begging her to do the song they'd been practicing in the car. His eyes pleaded with her and Jon pushed her up off his lap, telling her to do it or Col would be whining in the car all night.

"Alright, little buddy, let's do this."

They took the stage, her with a hand on her hip and he bouncing like a kid in a candy store, to do the eight-minute masterpiece, Paradise by the Dashboard Light, by Meatloaf and Ellen Foley. The whole crowd was jamming along with them, even Joe and Jon, who'd been forced to listen to this song for weeks, ever since Colby had heard it for the first time and insisted Scarlett do it with him at karaoke. She'd love the song since she was a little girl and Shane had let her listen to Bat Out of Hell so she told him she'd sing it with him but they couldn't fuck it up or she'd never sing karaoke with him ever again. He had promised and now here they were, knocking it out of the park. Afterwards, they both had cheesy grins on their faces and he hugged her so hard so thought she'd break.

The songs continued with everybody, even Scarlett, so drunk that they were wildly out of tune. John used some of his old rapping skills doing Snoop Dogg's Gin and Juice. TJ and Nattie did Time of My Life from Dirty Dancing and had the entire crowd awwing by end. Glenn dedicated Lean on Me by Bill Withers to her and she nearly cried, hugging him afterwards. Stephen Farrelly riled them up with a kickass version of The Offspring's Self Esteem. Scarlett and Colby pulled Joe onstage to do Friends on Low Places since she didn't get to sing with him the first time. He seemed a little timid especially since they made him sing the first verse all by himself, but by the end, he was having a great time, an arm thrown around each of them, singing so loudly he didn't even need a mic. Eventually, however, it was time to go and Scarlett requested the last two songs of the night. The first was for Jon and she dedicated AC/DC's If You Want Blood to him. Shaking her hips and dancing like there was no tomorrow, he sat in awe as she wailed away to his favorite band. When she finished it, he strolled up and kissed her like a madman, everyone cheering behind them. She smiled broadly when he pulled back, pushing him back to his seat.

"I just wanna say thanks to everyone for being here. This has definitely been the best birthday ever but now, we gotta go. Pay your tabs, get in your cabs and get some sleep. I set up wake up calls at the hotel so everyone better get up! I love you guys!"

She nodded at the DJ and Semisonic's Closing Time started up. She saw people give off laughs to the ironic song and they swayed with her as she sang.

_Closing time_  
><em>Open all the doors and let you out into the world<em>  
><em>Closing time<em>  
><em>Turn all of the lights on over every boy and every girl<em>  
><em>Closing time<em>  
><em>One last call for alcohol so finish your whiskey or beer<em>  
><em>Closing time<em>  
><em>You don't have to go home but you can't stay here<em>

She smiled at each person as they waved goodbye to her and left the bar. She pointed at Nick, who had an arm around Rosa, and smiled as she sang.

_So gather up your jackets, move it to the exits_  
><em>I hope you have found a friend<em>

He gave her a thumbs up and she rolled her eyes, laughing. She moved slowly to Jon, straddling his lap as she got to the end of the song, smiling down at him as he smirked up at her.

_I know who I want to take me home_  
><em>I know who I want to take me home<em>  
><em>I know who I want to take me home<em>  
><em>Take me home<em>

He grinned up at her, "Oh, I will."

She finished the song, hugged everyone who was still there and they all walked out, getting in cabs and going back to the hotel. She shared a ride with her boys, Joe in the front with the cabbie and her sprawled across the backseat, her feet in Colby's lap while her upper body was being cradled by Jon's massive arms.

Colby sighed, "God, that was the best birthday ever..."

The rest of the cab laughed, even the driver when Joe replied, "Dude, your birthday was four fucking days ago and we had a ginormous party then."

"Yeah, but tonight was totally better. I had so much fun."

Scarlett reached and grabbed his hand, smiling at him, "Guess what we'll do next year?"

"What?"

"JOINT. BIRTHDAY. PARTY."

Colby's eyes got big as saucers and he started bouncing up and down like he was in a goddamn candy store.

"YES! OH MY GOD, WE SO HAVE TO DO THAT! IT WOULD BE THE BEST THING TO EVER HAPPEN...EVER! OH MY GOD, I CAN'T EVEN RIGHT NOW. I CAN'T EVEN!"

The others were rolling now, laughing their asses off at Colby's frantic hand motions and the excited words that kept spewing out of his mouth. He kept talking about things for the party that was a year away all the way back to the hotel.

"And Leigh can be there and oh my god, we have to invite everybody!"

He threw his arms around Scarlett, so happy about her idea. They walked like this all the way back to the hotel, Colby even following Scarlett into her and Jon's room. Joe looked at his friend in desperation.

"Dude, can we just let them have this room tonight and you can come over to mine?"

Jon looked at the big man in slight confusion, "Um...why would I sleep over there when my girlfriend's going to be in here?"

Joe sighed, "Please don't make me share with him. He's going to be like this for hours."

Jon chuckled and clapped the gentle giant on the shoulder, "Well, sorry for your damn luck. Just punch him in the face and knock him out. He's so hammered that he won't remember a damn thing in the morning."

"I just might."

Scarlett hugged the two boys goodnight, giving them each two aspirin before they went over to their room. Joe kissed her on top of the head, telling her happy birthday, and Colby leaped at her, picking her up in a bear hug before he slipped and they toppled over onto the bed causing all four of them to laugh heartily. Jon nearly fell to the floor he was cackling so hard and Joe just smiled and shook his head, leaning against the door frame. Colby hugged her one last time before bounding after his friend, leaving the two lovers finally alone together. She leaned over to grab her phone and put it on the Spine-Tingling Piano station on Songza, their nightly routine as they got ready for bed. She got up and went to brush her teeth and wash her face while he changed into sweats, leaving his shirt off. He brushed his teeth as well, finishing before she did. Stepping behind her, he wrapped his long, muscular arms around her stomach, pulling her flush against him and catching her eyes in the mirror. He brushed her hair off her neck and started kissing along her vein, latching onto her pulse point, making her moan with her toothbrush still in her mouth. She finished quickly, leaning over to spit her toothpaste out, pushing her ass into his groin, making him moan in turn.

"I can play that game too, baby," she smirked at him in the mirror.

He answered her with a smirk of his own and she turned to face him, but he stopped her, keeping her back to him and watching her in the mirror. She grinned broadly, knowing exactly what he wanted to do. Ever since they had become intimate, he wanted to have sex everywhere, in as many ways as possible. All over hotel rooms, all over arenas, indoors, outdoors...hell, he had gotten her off with Joe and Colby sitting two feet in front of them...twice.

He pulled her dress up and off, reaching behind her to snap open her bra and fling it off. He hooked her panties and pulled them down her legs, kissing his way back up her leg as he stood again. He wrapped his arms around her waist again, picking her up and telling her to put her legs on the counter. She did and he sat her down, her ass on the edge leaning against his solid chest. His arms came over hers and he put his hands on her knees, whispering in her ear.

"Show me that pretty pussy, baby."

She spread her legs, bracing each one into the corner of the mirror so that her center was completely open to him. His mouth hung open at the sight before him and she smirked, popping her finger under his chin to close it. He couldn't even do anything else but went straight to her vagina, slowly running his fingers over her. Her head lolled back at the contact, whimpering slightly. He applied pressure to her clit, rubbing slowly in big circles, loving how she shuddered slightly every few seconds.

"Like how that feels, darlin?"

Her only answer was a slight nod and a purr. She opened her eyes slightly, catching his glance in the mirror. Her eyes were clouded with lust and all he could do was grin as he latched onto the sweet spot on her neck and brought his other arm around to massage her breast and roll her nipple. Her senses were being overloaded but she didn't want him to stop. Never wanted him to stop. Her eyes took in the vision he was giving her and when she saw was he was doing to her clit, she wanted to explode right there. It was like she was a queen being worshipped. That's what he made her feel like: a queen. Even the way he looked at her right now, like she was the only beautiful thing on this god-forsaken planet, made her feel amazing. She didn't know how she'd ever gotten so lucky as to have a man like him love her.

He added first one, then another finger to her entrance and started a brutal, pounding pace causing her to arch up off his chest. Her breasts were heaving, giving him a heavenly sight. He swore he didn't know how he had ever convinced her that he was worthy. She was so goddamn gorgeous and she was letting him touch her and what was better, she liked when he touched her. She was moaning and making the smallest squealing noise that was driving him wild. He could feel her walls fluttering around his fingers and knew it was time to make her wild too.

"Scarlett baby, open your eyes. Watch me make you come all over me."

Her eyes snapped open and caught his, frenetic craziness in them both. Her eyes moved south to his fingers and she groaned loudly, feeling the pit in her stomach start to burn with intensity. She brought his hand that was on her breast around her body, holding it with one arm while her other snaked around his neck, forcing his head against hers as he continued to talk to her, urging her on.

"Let go for me, baby. Watch me fuck you and just fucking let go. Now!"

That sent her completely over and he watched her fall apart, holding her steady with his arm while riding her out through her orgasm, her mouth forming a perfect O until she smiled at him, tilting her head back to capture his lips in a kiss. He picked her up, setting her down slowly and turning her around to face him. She kissed him long and slow.

"Thank you baby, that was amazing...and so hot."

"You're welcome, baby. First of many birthday presents."

She smiled, "I thought my present was buying out the bar and giving me the best party ever."

"You think that was all I did? Baby, you've got so much more coming."

"Really? More presents?!"

He nodded.

"Yay! I love presents!"

"God, you sound just like Colby did the other day when I gave him his."

"What, you got him off facing the mirror too?" She grinned widely.

He smirked at her, "You, little lady, need to get your mind out of the gutter. That is my brother and not funny."

A peal of laughter rang out of her, "Yes it is. What did you get him again?"

"A hoodie."

"Oh, how romantic!"

"You're so disgusting."

"But you love me."

He sighed, "Fuck it, I do. Now let's go to sleep. I want to feel that body of yours up against me."

"Aw, no more fun?" She said, slyly sliding her hand against his sweats.

He laughed, "Unfortunately no. We have the small problem that I'm drunk and therefore have whiskey dick. But don't worry baby, tomorrow I'll make it up to you...often."

"Ooh, I like the sound of that."

"Good, now get your fucking sexy ass in bed," he said, slapping her on the ass for good measure. They snuggled up to each other once there, excited for the day ahead.

*********khan*********

Alright, that's it. Just a fluffy little chapter before all the drama starts. If you notice my dates, then you'll notice the next chapter takes place on June 2nd, which is an ominous day for the Shield. Mwahahahahahahahaha! From here on out, I will tell you it get very drama heavy. I'll try to sprinkle in some happy bits but don't expect much. Get ready for the ride, dearies! It's about to take off! XOXO


	10. Separate Ways

Sorry this took so long. I had it completely typed up yesterday but before I could save, my computer decided to shut itself off to update and I lost it. But it's safe and sound today...whoo! This chapter goes out to **nattiebroskette, angelsdee327, UntilNeverDawns, kittybarrett** and **xSamiliciousx** because their reviews are the jam! Love y'all!

Oh, another something something: I'm going to be going back through and editing a little. Just because I've noticed some grammar mistakes and those drive me crazy. So you guys will probably be getting notifications that new chapters are up but it's just those.

The song for this chapter _Separate Ways_ by Journey...not really for the message but because it describes something in the chapter and...let's be honest, that song rocks some socks.

*********khan*********

_June 2nd, 2014- Indianapolis, IN_

Jon woke the next morning happier than he'd ever been in his entire life. He'd even bet on it. He felt like he was, as cheesy as it sounds, the king of the world. He had a great job where he got to perform in front of thousands of adoring people every night and he got paid handsomely for it. He also worked with the two best guys in the company. When he, Joe and Colby had met in FCW, they'd had an instant connection that went deeper than friendship. They were truly his brothers and he loved them more than any of his blood relatives. They were his family, the only one he needed. He also was gaining more friends around the company thanks to his best friends and his girlfriend. Before he'd been kind of a loner, but now, people actually smiled when he walked up.

The best thing in his life by far was the lady next to him. He felt like the luckiest son of a bitch on the planet every time she looked at him, let alone kissed him or held him or fucked his brains out. He still couldn't believe she was his and his only. He wondered if it was all a dream and one day, he'd wake up back to the nightmare that his life was before her. Sure, he was exaggerating but sometimes, when he looked back on it all, with the exception of Joe and Colby, his existence before she came into it seemed so meaningless. He had his friends, his work and girls all over him, but there was no reason and rhyme to it. Just going through the motions. But now, he had this angel who actually cared about him in more than just a superficial way. She cared about everything with him. How he was feeling, if his body was holding up okay, if he liked the storylines they were in, if he was having a good time, etc., etc. She worried more about him in the ring than he did and he knew it wasn't because of any naiveté on her part. She'd been travelling with this company her entire life. She knew what a bad bump or a missed spot looked like. She knew when things were actually serious but everytime he came through the gorilla after a match, she'd kiss him and ask how he felt and he loved it. Loved her, in fact, much more than he ever thought he could. What he'd told her had been true: when he'd first met her, he had fallen for her on the spot. His infatuation was borderline obsessive. Ok, actually there was no borderline to it. He adored everything about her, especially once he started talking to her. He dreamed of the day that he could wrap her in his arms and call her his.

And that day had finally arrived almost a month ago. After their first time together, he'd been so scared that she'd realize that he was just not good enough for her. He was a bum for the poorest section of Cincinnati. His family had abandoned him and he'd to crawl and scrape for everything he had today. She was the exact opposite. Born into wealth and privilege, her past intimidated the fuck out of him. She didn't need him and he certainly couldn't give her everything she deserved out of his own pocket. Hell, she probably could buy him everything he wanted and he couldn't do shit for her.

But yet, here she was, next to him, offering everything she had at his feet. That's what he loved the most about her. She could have anyone and she chose him. She didn't care about where he was from and who his family was or if he had as much money as her. She couldn't give two shits about what kind of house he lived in or what car he drove or if he vacationed in Saint Tropez or what his stock portfolio looked like. She said her favorite thing about him was his dimples. Not because they made him look hot, but because they showed when he was really smiling. When he was truly happy.

He threw back the covers to reveal their naked bodies. Not moving, just admiring, his eyes traveled down the length of her. God, she was beautiful. He loved the way her side dipped in before going into the gentle swell of her hip. She had a gorgeous, flat stomach but wasn't stick straight like most of the other girls. Her legs, always silky smooth, had a slight tan from her walking around in shorts all the time. He would have her without clothing all the time if he could, just so he could devour her with his eyes. He'd never get tired of looking at her. Whether it was today, on her 28th birthday, or fifty years from now, on her 78th.

Since it was her birthday, he wanted to wake her up in the best way possible. Hey, he had promised her multiple presents, after all. He lifted her leg as gently as possible until it lay over his. His hand, which had been absent-mindedly rubbing over her hip, ran from her knee and began a slow descent to her center. He cupped her, feeling the heat radiating, and it made blood shoot straight down to his groin. Shutting his eyes for a moment, he reminded himself that this wasn't for him, only for her. Getting himself under control, he ran his fingers through her folds, letting his two dominant ones start lazily circling her nub. She didn't move but he heard a distinct sigh escape her. Wondering if perhaps she was in a dream, he thought it'd be nice if inside her head, he was pleasuring her just as he was in reality.

Scarlett was indeed having a delightful dream. She was with Jon, naked in the most comfortable bed imaginable, and his mouth was on her, making her toes curl. She was propped on her elbows, watching him nibble and suck on her most sensitive area, and his eyes caught hers, salacious lust in his vision. He whispered to her every now and then, telling her how good she felt and tasted and how he loved her.

Back in the real world, Scarlett's whimpers got louder and she shifted onto her back, her legs naturally falling open. He continued to work her over, watching as her chest heaved and small gasps escaped her. Her whispered words went straight to his dick, his erection poking into her right ass cheek. His name came out of her like a prayer and she said that his tongue felt amazing. Oh, so he was using his tongue in her dream? Well, who was he to deny? He moved down her body laying lazy kisses on her stomach until he reached her center. His tongue replaced his fingers and he slid them into her, pressing against the sweet spot inside her. Her hands ran into his blonde curls, twisting slightly. He hummed against her, watching her body start to seize, and he knew she was close. Her walls fluttered and her moans were replaced by a strangled scream as the orgasm tore threw her. Her eyes flew open as her head rolled back, riding out her ecstasy. When her breaths finally got back to normal, he crawled back up her until he hovered over her face.

"Good morning. Happy birthday, baby!"

She smiled and leaned up to kiss him, "Thanks baby...that was the best wake up ever."

"Just couldn't help myself. You looked so content and fucking beautiful..." He nuzzled into her neck, growling softly, "I have to have you."

A shiver went up her spine, "Then give me my next present."

He captured her lips again before starting a slow exploration of her body, marking and worshiping every inch. He flipped her over, pushing her hair out of the way, and started at her neck, kissing and nipping while his hands slowly traced over her tattoos. That was another thing about her body he loved. Her numerous tattoos were all beautiful, as exquisite in their detail as she was. The waterfall of stars that started on her right shoulder and swept across her back. The flowing script across her left shoulder blade,_ Just like a star across my sky..._, from Corinne Bailey Rae. She had a set of initials- AR, MC, VE- etched across her left hip in dripping, blood-red letters. They were her nieces' initials, the only people in the world who she told him she'd die for willingly. He continued down over her firm ass, down one leg and up the other. She had a vine wrapping around her entire right leg with roses and thorns sticking out of it. Her left leg was completely bare except for a fishbowl on her ankle, honoring her favorite song, Pink Floyd's _Wish You Were Here_.

He flipped her back over, her eyes clouded over with lust. When he reached her hip, he stopped to give a long, slow lick to her center, enjoying the wetness that he tasted there. Her body seized momentarily and she locked eyes with him.

"Jon, I need you."

He made his way up her body, kissing and nipping still, licking over the word **WARRIOR** on her right ribcage. Reaching his hands under her, he brought her up with him to a sitting position, her legs straddling his waist while he sat back on his ankles. He kissed her with a passion and, without much more preamble, impaled her on him. She gasped, still tight from her earlier orgasm, and he watched as her eyes rolled back. He rested his forehead in the crook of her neck, feeling her stretch around him. It was the most glorious feeling in the world and he could've stayed content there forever, with her arms splayed across his expansive back.

He started a slow rhythm, something he'd only ever done with her, and she moaned everytime he hit that spot inside her. He leaned back slightly, grabbing her left hand and kissing it softly. She watched him as his lips trailed over **CEANNAIRCEACH**, the gaelic for Rebel, in the same flowing script that was on her back. Moving past that, he went up her trail of heroes on her shoulder. There were likenesses of Elvis, Freddie Mercury, Linda Ronstadt and Stevie Nicks, her own Mount Rushmore.

He increased his speed slightly while exploring her right arm, or as she called it, her lyric arm. There were words covering almost inch of it, but his favorite was the one that started on her shoulder and cascaded down. It read _I know we'll be just fine when we learn to love the ride_. She'd told him it was from the theme song of United States of Tara, one of her favorite shows, and she had gotten it after she'd broken up with her first serious boyfriend. She said there were ups and downs in life and as long as you revelled in the good and persevered through the bad, everything would be fine.

He asked her one time why she didn't have any tattoos for Phil. It was the day after they'd made love- a term he'd only started using to describe sex with her- for the first time and she'd been very quiet before answering him. She said that nothing was permanent except death and tattoos and she'd never get a man's name inked on her. He'd understood that and respected her for it. He was also glad he'd never have to stare at Phil's name while they were together in bed.

Her groans started to pick up and his hands latched onto her hips, pulling her down hard as he thrusted up into her. Her hands were holding the sides of his head, their foreheads against each other and their breaths mingling. Their eyes connected- green and blue- and they held themselves there in an intense duel through the moans and whimpers and whispered words until they both exploded, screaming their releases into each other's mouth. He gently laid her back down, admiring the sheen of sweat that coated her knowing he looked the same. She smiled up at him and reached a hand up, only speaking when he grabbed onto it.

"Baby, I'm so glad you're here with me today."

"I wouldn't be anywhere else."

They had to get up and to the arena after that. When they exited their room and met Joe and Colby for breakfast downstairs, they could barely keep their hands off each other, smiling and kissing the entire walk down. When they sat down, they finally settled into her being curled under his arm with her hand on his thigh. Joe rolled his eyes dramatically, a small smile on his lips.

"You guys are getting disgusting."

Jon smirked, kissing Scarlett on the lips, "I know."

That got a laugh from Scarlett and the big man while Colby looked a little downtrodden. Grabbing his hand, Scarlett looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What's wrong? You know I don't like to see you frowning."

"I just miss Leigh, I guess. Seeing you two makes me want to be with her."

Scarlett had met Colby's girlfriend the previous week when they were travelling through Iowa. She was a sweet, lovely, energetic girl and Scarlett saw why she and Colby were together. They were the exact definition of "a couple crazy kids in love."

"You'll see her soon. You're going home after taping tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah. I don't know why, I just have this pit in my stomach, like something bad's about to happen."

"Hey," she leaned down, catching his eye and smiling, "Focus on the good, pup. You have a great girl, a great job and the three of us to indulge in and make fun of your goofy shit all the time."

That finally got a smile out of him and he laughed, "Ok, ok, you're right. I'm still gonna go call her real quick. I just need to hear her voice."

The three of them smiled as he left the table and Joe looked at the other two.

"I think he's gonna propose before too long. He thinks about her all the time and he misses her more and more now when we're on the road."

Scarlett clasped her hands together, "Really?! That'd be so awesome! Could you imagine Colby getting married? He'd be like a kid on christmas morning."

"Exactly. Leigh would have to do everything so he wouldn't go overboard."

Jon smirked, "Oh, if they do get hitched, you best believe Colby's stamp would be all over that wedding. Nerdy shit everywhere and a reception full of boy band music."

Scarlett looked at him, "And you would have a great time."

"Whatever...as long as I had you to sit beside."

Joe made a gagging sound and the couple looked at him.

"Please you guys, just ate. Don't want it coming back up."

They laughed and kissed, enjoying his exaggerated misery. After Colby got back, they left and headed to the arena, ready to get the two days of shows out of the way so they could all go home. When they got there, Scarlett split from the boys to go prep the gorilla while they changed and stretched out. Everything was going on schedule and Travis came up with the script for the evening. Scarlett sat to read through it, making notations in the margins to remember later that night. Her eyes bulged when she saw Dave's part about quitting Evolution and walking out of the E and she was curious to see if Paul had any parts after that. She got to the Shield's promo and was enjoying it, especially when Joe was supposed to talk about them being brothers and how nothing could split them apart. When she saw Paul and Randy were going to interrupt them, she continued on with eager interest.

What she read had the smile falling from her face. What the fuck? Did they really want this to happen? Where had this come from? Everything was fine last night and now...she bolted off her case and rushed to Stephanie's office, yelling over her shoulder to keep setting up and making sure everything was on point. When she got to her sister's door, she didn't even knock. Stephanie and Paul were sitting, quietly talking, and both looked up at her rude invasion. She held the script up and glared at them furiously.

"What the fuck is this?"

Stephanie considered her for a silent moment, "The script."

Scarlett rolled her eyes, "No shit, Steph. Why are they being broken up?"

"Because it's time."

"What do you mean? They come off their most dominant performance yet and you're going to disband them. Why?"

Paul took over from his wife, "Because last night, they proved something, to me and everyone else. Yeah, they're great together, but they will be amazing on their own. We've gotta start looking to Summerslam and with Bryan out for surgery and Dave leaving, we need a story and this is going to be it."

Scarlett was flabbergasted. Sure, she understood that the boys would not be together forever and she knew that they all had the talent and work ethic to potentially be top guys in the company, but it was just so sudden.

"How long have you guys been thinking about this?"

"About a month but we wanted to make sure they were ready, that they had the stuff and last night, they showed me they had it."

Scarlett sighed, "I just wish there would've been some forewarning. Colby has no idea he'll have to switch up his travel arrangements."

Stephanie spoke up, "Well, since it is such short notice, if he needed to travel with you guys until Wednesday, that'd be fine, but you guys could not be seen together...by anyone outside."

"Ok, we can manage that. Do they know yet?"

"Yeah, they were in here about 20 minutes before you got here. Jon was the most pissed about it. They were a little upset about having no warning either."

"Well I can understand that. Ok, I'll get out of your hair. This is going to be a rough night," Scarlett ran a hand through her hair, leaving the office and going to find her boys. When she got to their dressing room, she knocked softly before Joe slowly opened the door. They were all in there, silently sitting, all lost in their own minds. She gave Joe a big hug, telling him it'd be alright. Joe, always the strong, silent one, nodded at her and she knew he'd be just fine. She went to Colby next and got down on her knees in front of him, letting her elbows rest on his thighs and pulling his head up until he was looking her in the eye.

"How ya doing, pup?"

His eyes were misted over and she wrapped her arms around him, his head going onto her shoulder.

"Scarlett, I don't wanna do this. Sure, I know it's best for everybody and all but I've been with these guys for so long...everything's going to change. I won't be able to see you guys all the time now. Who am I going to travel with now? Randy and Glenn? Sure, Glenn's alright but Randy...ugh."

She let out a small chuckle at that, "Yeah I know but once you get to know him, maybe it'll be alright. He's a midwestern boy too so maybe you guys will find some common ground. Stephanie told me you can still travel with us until Wednesday though so at least you've got some time."

His eyes lit up, "Really? She said that?"

"Yeah, we just gotta let no one see us together so maybe once we get to the hotel we can all watch a movie or something and order in food."

"I'd love that. I'm gonna go call Leigh and tell her what's happening. Thanks Scar, I feel better."

"No problem, honey, I just wanna see that smile again."

He got up and walked out to call his girlfriend. Looking at Joe, silently brooding in the corner, she walked up to the last soon-to-be-ex-member of the Shield and silently held out her hand. She knew he was pissed and he needed something that he couldn't have in this room. He eyed her hand and, after a moment, laced his fingers through hers. She smiled softly down at him.

"Come on, let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"Outside. Cigarette."

His eyes flew wide and he got up enthusiastically, "Great idea, my little rulebreaker."

She smiled at him, "Only for you, baby."

Looking at Joe and telling him they'd be back in a while, all they got was a slight head nod before he went back to staring at nothing. Keeping their hands entwined, she led him to the garage and around a few corners before pulling her pack out. He leaned back against a wall and took a long inhale, closing his eyes before breathing the smoke out.

"God, baby, that was exactly what I needed."

She stepped up in between his legs, looking him in the eye, smiling gently.

"How're you with all this?"

He shrugged, "It's fine."

She smirked, "Bullshit."

He cocked an eyebrow skyhigh, "What?"

"That's a bullshit answer and you know it so I'll ask one more time: how're you with all this?"

His shoulders dropped, "I don't know. A part of me is pissed because they dropped it on us all of a sudden. I'm sad too cause me and they guys...well, you know. We're brothers on-screen and off and I feel...I feel like I'm losing somebody. Which is weird cause he'll still be here every week and we're gonna be working together just like we used to in NXT and FCW, making amazing matches and promos and all that shit but it's the time on the road with all of us that I love so much. So I'm sad...but a small part of me is so fucking excited. Did you talk to the Empire?"

She laughed at his nickname for her family. Paul was Vader and Stephanie was the Emperor.

"Yeah, they made me realize why they're doing it."

"And that's why I'm so excited. If they see this much potential and they have our backs, then fuck...the sky's the fucking limit, ya know? Especially with Cena and Orton getting older and most likely to retire in a couple of years...they could be setting us up at the next guys. I feel like I should knock on wood or some stupid shit like that for even thinking that, but I can't help it. My mind's full of all these possibilities."

Her smile only grew as he spoke. If he believed in himself, then he could have it all. She'd seen it in so many other guys who flamed out for this reason or that, but her guy would do anything to make it to the top. She knew he always felt like he had something to prove because of his past and it made her proud that he'd never quit until his dream was realized. She finished her cigarette and pulled his head to her, kissing him quickly.

"If it makes any difference, I think you're capable of anything. In fact, I know it."

He grinned at her- a real grin with dimples- and wrapped her in his arms, burying his face in her hair and smelling the familiar vanilla and peaches.

"Hey, you got any plans for Wednesday? Anything important to do?"

"No, not really. Was just going to clean and relax at home."

"You wanna come home with me?"

She leaned back, "To Vegas?"

"Yep," he looked down at her, "I don't want to be by myself."

She giggled, "You just want me naked in your bed for three days."

He gave her an impish grin, "And what's wrong with that?"

"Absolutely nothing."

"Seriously though," he leaned his forehead against hers, "I just don't wanna be away from you. I'm sorry for being a wimp and I'm really sorry that the guys and I are sad on your birthday. I feel like we're letting you down."

"You're not, I promise. We're gonna do the show and you guys are going to make breaking up look as badass as ever and then we're going to go to Cincinnati tomorrow. Oh, is there anyone you wanna see while we're there?"

His eyes got hard, "Nobody."

She sighed, "Well alright then, we'll do the show tomorrow and then Wednesday, we'll fly to Vegas and have a great time, in bed and maybe a little outside. And that is all the birthday celebration I need."

"You promise?"

"Yep, throw in a little blackjack at the Bellagio and I'm all set."

His eyes softened back up and he let out a genuine laugh, "I think we can arrange that."

"Awesome."

"You're awesome."

She sighed, rolling her eyes, "I know."

"Is that ego I hear?"

"Only learning from you, baby."

"You're damn straight," he said, pulling her back in, kissing her hard. They turned back towards the arena and the inevitable heartbreak of the Shield's breakup, but they were wrapped in each other's arms and couldn't have been happier.

*********khan*********

Alright, that's all for today. I got really sad writing that scene in the locker room. Gah, what is happening to me? I don't even know these people! Hahaha, whatever...hope you guys enjoyed.


	11. Viva Las Vegas

How are you lovelies doing this fine evening! It is beautiful and everything is shiny...ok, I'm delirious from not sleeping. Would like to thank the always awesome **Nattiebroskette, HisMnkyPrincess, UntilNeverDawns **and **xSamiliciousx** for their reviews and I would encourage the rest of you to follow in their brilliant example. :)

The song for the chapter is, appropriately, _Viva Las Vegas_ by the one and only Elvis Presley. Enjoy!

*********khan*********

_June 4th, 2014- Las Vegas, NV_

They landed at McCarran International Airport shortly after 11 am and got a cab to Jon's condo a few blocks from the Strip. He smiled at her expression as she took in the sights. It was one of wonder and awe.

"You've been here before, right?"

She grinned widely, "Of course, several times but I always forget how beautiful it is here. Especially during the daytime."

"The daytime? Most people like it more at night."

"At night, it's nice too, but all the neon's kinda gaudy. Too bright. But during the day, it's like a lazy little oasis. So pretty."

Jon smirked, "Yeah, a lazy oasis...with thousands of tourists."

Scarlett rolled her eyes, "Hey babe, you're the one who lives here. If you don't want to live near tourists, go to Wyoming."

"Meh, I need some amusement."

"Well then," she smiled at him, "stop bitching."

He pulled her into him, grabbing her in a headlock, and kissed the top of her head.

"I fucking hate it when you're right sometimes."

They pulled into his building and got out, taking all their bags inside. Jon was scared that she was going to take one look at the place and bolt. It was a modest two-bedroom with one bathroom and a tiny kitchen. He had a leather couch with a matching recliner, black coffee table and a flatscreen mounted on the wall. In his bedroom, other than his king-sized bed, there was a nightstand with a lamp and a dresser. The other bedroom had a weight bench with a couple of free weights scattered around. The only appliances in the kitchen was a coffeemaker and a toaster. That was all there was to his apartment. All that he owned in the world besides his clothes and car, which was parked in his spot outside and hadn't been driven in three months. It was a silver Honda Accord and he'd had it for close to 10 years. He'd been wanting to upgrade ever since he got called up to the main roster, but figured it'd be a waste considering how many days he was on the road. Why buy a new car when it'd sit for months and not be used?

He watched her as she took in her surroundings. The small smile on her face puzzled him.

"What?"

"Hmm," she turned around to face him, "I didn't say anything."

"What do you think?"

"I think it's very you. No fuss, no lavish ornament...it just screams you."

"So, you...like it?"

"Yes, very much. If you lived in a mansion with 10 cars and shit everywhere, I'd be concerned," she put her hands on his shoulders, "Why?"

"Nothing..."

"Jon, come on, I know something's up."

He sighed loudly, "I guess, I just figured that there isn't a lot here and you might be used to more."

She smiled, "Do you think I need a lot more?"

He studied her intently, "No, I think you could be comfortable anywhere."

"You're exactly right. Jon, just because I come from money and privilege, please don't think that means anything to me. I just want to be wherever you are. In fact, you know where I'd like to be right now?"

"Where's that?"

She slid her arms around his torso, pulling him close, "In that big ol' bed back there...naked."

He grinned widely, dimples on full display, "Yes ma'am!"

Picking her up suddenly and hauling her over his shoulder, she squealed in delight as he smacked her shorts-covered ass and they made love the whole afternoon.

Later, after numerous attempts at getting out of bed only led to more numerous orgasms, they were finally in the shower, scrubbing the smell of sex and sweat off so they could go to dinner. He'd made reservations at a place on the strip and they were supposed to be there in an hour, but they couldn't stop kissing and fondling each other. He finally broke apart from her, leaning back into the shower spray.

"Baby, this has been one of the best days of my life, but if I don't get food in me soon, I'm going to pass out and never wake up."

She pouted and bit her lip.

"Don't start that shit, Scar. You know I can't resist."

She didn't stop.

"Baby...I need food."

Her eyes rolled skyhigh, "Fine, but I'm going to make you wish we had just ordered in."

"How're you gonna do that?"

"I've got my ways. How about one more round before we get out?" She waggled her eyebrows at him.

He put a finger up to stop her, "Absolutely not."

"But baby..."

"No, shower sex is dangerous. I almost broke my neck fucking in a shower one time."

"And how was that?"

"Well, you see, I had this girl up against...wait, do you really wanna hear this?"

"Surprisingly, yes."

"Ok, but if you get pissed, I'm not having it. Anyway, so I had this girl up against the shower, ya know, and we're going at it. And what did the dumb bitch do but arch her back so hard that she bumped off the wall and made us fall backwards. Well, there's nothing to grab to stop me going through the shower curtain so I fall with her still holding onto me. Fell completely out of the shower, took the curtain and rod down with me, landed smack on my back on the bathroom floor, don't know how I didn't smack my head on the door. Hurt like fucking hell and this girl, who's on top of me now, just starts riding me like nothing's wrong. Ridiculous!"

Scarlett was cackling like a witch, "Well, did you throw her off or finish up?"

"Uh, baby, I'm a man so what do you think?"

"You kept going."

"You're damn straight I did. But hear this, I will never have sex in a shower ever again."

"Not even with me?"

"Not even with you, my love. I'm not risking my goddamn neck again when there's a perfectly good surface everywhere else in this place to fuck you on."

"Aw, baby, that was so romantic."

He could hear her sarcasm and responded in kind, "Only for you, baby doll."

They finally got dressed and walked out his door, hand in hand. Scarlett thought they were going to his car but he pulled her away towards the street.

"It's close enough to walk, babe."

She laughed when she saw the sign on the door: Battista's Hole in the Wall.

"I see why you told me not to dress too fancy."

"I love this place, been coming here ever since I moved to town. Don't let the name fool you. It's some of the best Italian in the world."

Dinner was fabulous and afterwards, he took her to the Bellagio so she could play blackjack. Needless to say, he was thoroughly impressed. She started out with a hundred bucks on the table and by the time they left after two hours, she had quadrupled it. His girl could play. He fell in love with her all over again and he wasn't the only one. She had the dealer mooning over her with her jokes and smiles. It helped that she was tipping him all the time. Jon put his arm around her shoulders just to make clear to the guy that she was taken.

When they left, in the direction of his place, they leisurely strolled taking in the lights and sounds of Vegas at night. Her head was on his shoulder and her arm wrapped around his back. He kissed her hair and pulled her in tighter.

"Thanks for coming home with me, baby."

"It was my pleasure. How are you doing with everything? You haven't said anything about the Shield being broken up."

He sighed, "I mean, it was inevitable, right? No use in crying about it or being sad. I'm sure we're going to have some kickass matches and maybe one of us will win the title and then we can feud over that. Only bigger and better things can happen."

He looked down at her and she was grinning ear to ear, "What?"

"I'm just happy you're taking this so well. When I saw you monday, you looked so mad. I thought you would be that way for a while."

"Nah, I was at first but once I understood, it's fine."

"Well, good. Just knowing you're happy makes it's all ok."

He kissed the top of her head, "Baby, as long as I got you and my job and a healthy body, then I'm always ok. I love you."

She smiled up at him and leaned up for a kiss.

"My g-man...always so sweet."

"Whatever. I would prefer sexy, hot, dashing...any of those would be better."

"You're all those things too, but I like you best when you're sweet."

"Oh is that how you like me best? Well that's not how I like you best."

"And how do you like me?"

He looked down at her, "Naked...duh."

She smacked his stomach lightly, giggling, as he kissed her again.

"Excuse me?"

They broke apart and looked at the group of teenage girls next to them. They had stars in their eyes looking at Jon and Scarlett automatically knew they were fans. Apparently ones who really liked her boyfriend.

"Are you...um...are you Dean Ambrose?"

He smiled apologetically at Scarlett. She shrugged her shoulders. It was part of the job. Turning to the girls, he grinned devilishly, giving them the Ambrose charm.

"Yep, that's me. How are you fine ladies doing tonight?"

One of them actually squealed. The leader rolled her eyes at her friend.

"Be cool, Amber. Can you sign some stuff for us and take a picture?"

"Sure, sweet cheeks."

While he was signing, they asked him questions.

"Do you live here?"

"Yep."

"Oh my god, that's so cool. I'm sorry that Seth turned on you and Roman. He's an asshole."

Scarlett had to turn her head to hide her smile. Aw, poor Colby. Everybody was going to hate him now and her little pup was going to get all this dumped upon him. She hoped he could handle it.

"Yeah well, my brother's gonna get his."

One of the girls eyed her warily.

"Do you mind taking the picture?"

Scarlett smiled, "Sure, honey."

The four girls smiled and huddled close to Jon. He put his arms on the shoulders of the two closest to him and stared at Scarlett, cocky Ambrose grin on his face. Scarlett smirked, shaking her head at him. He enjoyed this way too much. She took the picture, handing the phone back to the girl, before stepping back to Jon's side.

"Hey, are you his girlfriend or something?"

Scarlett looked back to the girl, nodding her head.

"Yes, I am."

"You guys are super cute! You would make the most adorable babies! What's your name?"

"I'm Scarlett, nice to meet you girls."

The girls smiled and said thank you and goodbye. Scarlett wrapped her arms around Jon, looking up at his handsome face.

"Can I have Jon back now, please?"

He looked at her, confused, "Huh? I'm right here, baby."

"Nope, still look too much like Dean Ambrose."

He smirked at her, "Whatever. Can't help it all the girls love me."

"Still too much like Ambrose."

He stared at her before smiling widely, dimples on full display.

"Ah, there's my boyfriend. Welcome back, baby."

"Yeah yeah, give me a kiss."

She did, pulling his head down to her, kissing him wildly and making them both ignore all the dings and whistles of Las Vegas Boulevard. When she pulled back, he growled under his breath.

"Girl, I want you. Right here. Right now."

She ran her fingers through his hair, "If only we wouldn't get arrested..."

"Don't even care."

She laughed lightly, "My dangerous, sexy man. Take me home. To bed."

He grinned at her, "Yes ma'am."

_The next morning_

Her phone started ringing at seven. She threw a hand on it, silencing the offending object. It didn't wake Jon up but he grabbed onto her tighter and she snuggled in, loving his warmth. Her ringtone rang out again. God, who was doing this to her? Dean mumbled in her hair.

"Baby, answer your phone."

"If I answer, then it's real. I just want everything to stay away."

He reached over her, picking up the blaring object, and handed it to her. She groaned loudly when she saw the name on the screen: Stephanie.

"Hello sister, there had better be a damn good reason to call me this early."

"Anything you want to tell me, Scarlett?"

"Stephanie, whatever you need, spit it out. It's too early."

"Get on your computer. Look at the email I just sent you."

Scarlett moaned and got up, sliding out of Jon's warm embrace. She opened up her laptop in the kitchen and pulled up her email, clicking on the one from her sister. It was a link to TMZ. When the page came up, Scarlett gasped and nearly collapsed. There were pictures of her and Jon from last night plastered all over the website. There was ones of them walking, arms wrapped around each other. In some, they were kissing, completely unaware of anything around them. There was an accompanying story and the headline was in bold, black letters: **WWE Wrestler Dean Ambrose Hooking Up With The Boss's Daughter**. They had her name and a history of her work with the company. There was even a mention about Phil. It was all there.

"Scarlett, are you there?"

"Yeah, Stephanie, I'm here."

"What the hell is going on? Why are you in Vegas with him? Are you two together and, if you are, why the fuck am I learning about it on a tabloid website?"

She got progressively louder until Scarlett had to hold the phone away from her ear slightly. She rubbed a hand over her face, closing her eyes.

"Stephanie...calm down."

"No, little sister, you don't get to tell me to calm down. Do you even realize how messed up this is? I want you and Jon here tomorrow so we can talk about this."

"What? You want us to fly to Connecticut just to talk to you? No. That's absolutely ridiculous. We'll see you on Monday. We can talk then."

"Scarlett..."

"Sis, I'm getting off the phone now and going back to bed. I will see you on Monday. Try to calm down by then."

"Scarlett!"

"Bye Steph."

She hung up then and took a deep breath, slowly walking back to the bedroom, taking her laptop with her. When she entered the room, Jon was laying on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He had one arm over his head and the other one, which had been her pillow, was still stretched out to his side. The covers were resting just over his hips and his shirtless chest beckoned to her. Even though she was still freaking out about the pictures, a part of her salivated at the sight in front of her. Oh, why had she answered the phone? His gaze fell on her as she sat on the bed.

"That sounded serious."

"It was," she said, turning the computer towards him so he could see what she had. He leaned up and took the laptop from her, eyes quickly scanning the page and growing wider by the second.

"Oh fuck."

"Yeah, that's what I said. Stephanie is pissed that I didn't tell her about us. She wants to talk to both of us on monday."

He looked up at her and she saw him visibly swallow.

"Oh fuck."

*********khan*********

Ruh roh! How do you think the family's going to handle it?


	12. Waterloo Sunset

So many lovely reviews that I had to type this one up immediately. This chapter and Scarlett's badassery is dedicated to **UntilNeverDawns, Nattiebroskette, HisMnkyPrincess, Rossi's Lil Devil **and **xSamiliciousx****.** I think you guys might be intrigued to know that I'm plotting out a new story as we speak. It'll involve Ambrose again but this time with a little on-screen girlfriend action. Sound good? I'll let you guys know when the first chapter is up. Until then, enjoy The Madness!

The song for this one is _Waterloo Sunset_ by the Kinks, one of my all-time favorite songs in the entire world. It makes me feel like everything's gonna be alright.

*********khan*********

_June 9th, 2014- Minneapolis, MN_

They arrived at the Target Center, walking hand in hand, both silent and lost in their thoughts. Scarlett didn't know what awaited them. She knew Stephanie would have a lot to say and probably Paul as well. Image meant a great deal to them and, in their minds, if this wasn't handled correctly, then it would blow up in their faces and be a huge embarrassment. Scarlett was trying to be relaxed about it. She and Jon were together and pictures were taken. So what? It wasn't the first relationship she'd ever had with a wrestler and pictures had been taken of her and Phil all the time. She really didn't understand why anyone in the family would have any objections.

Jon, on the other hand, was having serious anxiety. He was scared shitless about what his bosses would have to say. God, if any of his friends saw him right now, they'd have a good laugh about the figurative sweat on his brow. Sure, he knew the McMahons and he thought he had a pretty good professional relationship with them. Hell, Vince had picked him and Colby and Joe to travel with Scarlett. If he hadn't liked any of them, surely he wouldn't have packed his youngest daughter off with them. He just didn't know. How do you go from "employee" to "daughter's boyfriend" without any awkward adjustments? He didn't know and it was that uncertainty that was killing him. What if they absolutely hated him and Scarlett decided he just wasn't worth the risk? What if she left him because her family didn't approve? It would kill a small part of him.

As they entered, his hand, on instinct, went to drop from hers, but she held fast and grinned over at him.

"No use in hiding anything now, babe."

"Yeah, guess you're right."

They got to the his and Joe's locker room and they found Colby inside. He gave them both welcoming hugs but Scarlett could see in his eyes that he was nervous. She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"What's wrong, honey?"

"Stephanie saw me when I came in. She said as soon as I saw you two to deliver a message: Her office. Now."

Scarlett rolled her eyes, "Jesus, drama queen."

She sat but Jon paced the room a bit, looking to his brother.

"What was she like?"

"Um...a little pissed. She said something about Scar being rude on the phone."

"She wanted us to fly to Connecticut on friday just to talk to her. I said no. I wasn't rude."

Colby held up his hands with a small smile, "Just the messenger, girl."

"I know, pup."

"It's gonna be so weird not travelling with you guys tonight."

Jon spoke up, "I think I might enjoy it a little bit. No more pop duets."

Scarlett leaned into him, "Oh really?"

"Yep."

She grinned mischievously at the two-toned ninja, "Oh Colby..."

"Yeah Scar?"

"I tell you what I want, what I really, really want..."

He laughed riotously, "Oh tell me what you want, what you really, really want..."

They both broke out singing the Spice Girls while circling around Jon, who hung his head and plugged his ears as best he could. They did two full choruses and the first verse before stopping, giggling and hugging each other.

"I'm gonna miss you in the car, man, but at least now we know that we have a new stage: Jon's locker room. Anytime we want."

Jon popped his head back up, "Uh...no."

"Uh...yes, baby. Should we give him one more, Col? Perhaps Britney or Christina this time."

Colby's eyes danced and his head shook wildly in affirmation and Jon stood up.

"Fuck this, I'm leaving. I'd rather be getting reamed out by Stephanie."

Scarlett grabbed his hand and brought him close to her.

"You know you love it."

His hard façade gave way to a devilish grin.

"I love you," he said, before pointing at the dancing man behind her, "This one, not so much right now."

Colby stopped and his shoulders sagged, "Oh, that hurts, man."

Jon grabbed Scarlett's hand, "Come on, let's go see your sister and get this over with."

They walked out and started down the hallway, grinning as Colby stepped out behind them, yelling for everyone to hear.

"Well, I love you, Jonathan Good. I really do and I'll make you love me back, dammit!"

One of Scarlett's infamous peals of laughter rang out and Jon shook his head, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"That boy, I swear."

"He loves you. You heard him. Better fess up to your mutual feelings or he might have to resort to something drastic."

"With your help, I'm sure."

"Oh, of course, I never stand in true love's way."

"You two are ridiculous."

"Only for you, baby."

They reached Stephanie's office and he suddenly stopped. She looked up at him and saw his eyes darting wildly every which way. She brought both arms around his neck, making him focus on her.

"Hey, it's going to be fine. You let me do most of the talking, ok? I've dealt with her all my life and I know how she ticks. Alright?"

He nodded at her and leaned down to kiss her, putting all his strength into it, giving it all to her. When they parted, she gave him a small smile and entwined their fingers together before pushing open the door. They got a small shock when they saw not only Stephanie and Paul, but Vince and Linda as well. Jon stood stock still while Scarlett merely smirked at her sister.

"Bringing in the cavalry, sister?"

"I just thought that they should be a part of this, too. We are family after all. Will you two take a seat, please?"

They did and Scarlett motioned to Stephanie.

"Well, come on, say everything you need to."

"Evelyn, be nice."

"Mother...don't. Stephanie wanted this so I feel like she should be the one to speak first."

Stephanie took a very deep breath before eyeing her sister and Jon, "Scarlett, I don't know what you think you're doing, but it has to stop."

"What is it that you think I'm doing?"

"This," Stephanie said, pointing between the two of them, "Is not a good thing. It will end badly."

"You don't know that."

"Scarlett, think seriously about this. You're still fresh from your break-up with Phil..."

"It's been six months, Stephanie. I'm over it."

Paul spoke up, "If you're over it, then what was that blowout with Phil when he was here?"

"That was him getting in my face. It's done. Settled."

Vince could see his youngest getting agitated and knew she needed to be calmed down to continue this discussion.

"Scarlett, honey," he said in his most soothing voice, "How long have you two been seeing each other?"

"A month."

"Are you happy?"

"Did you see the pictures?"

"Yes, I did."

"How did I look in them?"

Vince looked into his daughter's eyes, "You looked happy."

"And I am, dad," she said, edging closer to him, smiling, while still holding Jon's hand, "You know how hard it was for me, but I'm good now."

"And what happens when you're not happy anymore?"

This came from Stephanie and her sister's head whipped around to face her, steel in her emerald eyes.

"Who says I'm ever going to be unhappy? Stephanie, you're talking in hypotheticals. About stuff that might never happen."

"And what if it does?"

Jon squeezed her hand, whispering, "I'd never do that to her."

Five sets of eyes landed on him and all he wanted to do was shrink back into the corner. Too late now. He looked at Vince, knowing he was the one who needed to be impressed.

"Sir, I would never hurt your daughter. I love her too much for that."

Paul's voice reached him, "Phil told us that too."

"Yeah, well, I am not Phil Brooks."

"How do we know that? He was a kid from the wrong part of town too..."

Scarlett's head popped up, "Is that what this is about?"

"Huh?"

"You guys don't think he's good enough for me."

Vince held up his hands, "We never said that, Scarlett."

"Is that what you think? Huh, you think because he's not from money that he's not good enough? Dad, tell me what you think."

"Scarlett...I just want what's best for you."

"So, yeah, you think it's a mistake. Stephanie, you'll always speak your mind. Come on, be honest."

Stephanie cocked an eyebrow at the couple, "Yeah, I think it's a mistake. I think that you guys will not last. Scarlett, you are emotional and Jon, you are slightly off your rocker. You guys might make it for a few months, but when you guys end and we all know you will end, what happens then? It'll be just like December all over again. You'll be sad and it'll be awkward all over backstage and it'll ultimately lead to something none of want."

"And what would that be?"

Paul answered her, "The company losing one of its best guys."

"Oh, so you're blaming me now for Phil leaving? Sure, ok, I guess you guys pulling him out of Wrestlemania had nothing to do with that. Nope, it was all my fault. Guess I just drove him to use me and cheat for three fucking years..."

"Evelyn, language!"

She held up her free hand, "Sorry."

Scarlett was quiet. Jon was too. Their hands were still clasped and his thumb was softly rubbing the back of her hand, calming her down. Finally, she spoke up.

"I appreciate the concern. I know that all of you want what's best for me."

Her mother smiled, "We love you, dear."

Scarlett smiled, "I know. But if you truly love me, then you'll accept what makes me happy. And Jon..."

She glanced over to him, "He makes me happy. He makes me feel loved and safe. Dad, you made the right decision when you made me travel with the Shield. I've never been so glad of anything in my life. And you know what? Things may not work out. Nothing's permanent. But you need to trust me. Jon would never do to me what Phil did. He would never hurt me like that."

She looked seriously at her father, "You had problems when you found about Stephanie and Paul, but look at how they've done. You had your worries but they were unfounded."

Stephanie turned her eyes to her sister, "I appreciate it if you left my marriage out of it."

"Why? I thought you of all people would be ok with this, sister. You guys never complained once when Phil and I started dating so I don't see the problem now. What's the difference?"

Stephanie turned her attention to Jon, "Jon, you realize that just because you two are together doesn't mean you'll get any special treatment around here. It actually might hurt you a little bit."

"You've got to be kidding me," Scarlett said under her breath.

Jon chuckled slightly, "I'm not with Scarlett because I want a big push. I don't care if you have me fighting Heath Slater for months."

"That could always be arranged."

"And it'd be just fine. Not what I want to do, of course, but as long as I had Scarlett waiting for me on the other side of the curtain, then I'd be fine."

Scarlett squeezed his hand and stood up, "Let's go babe."

Stephanie stood as well, "Scarlett, we're not done."

"Yes, Steph, we are. You guys know I love you all, but I'm going to be happy. With whomever I want. And that's Jon. He's nothing like Phil, he doesn't want anything from me. He makes me smile. He makes me laugh. He makes me feel wanted and safe and loved and if you guys really love me, then you'll support us and welcome him into the family."

"You want us to accept him as family?"

"Why not? I want you to get to know him like I do. Hell, maybe you'll get over the fact that he's not as...uppercrust as all of you, but then again, neither am I."

"Honey," Vince said, "We don't want you to feel separated from us."

"And I don't wanna be but you won't tell me who to be with. I want to be with him. He wants to be with me. He loves me and goddammit, you guys, I love him."

The room was silent.

"Scarlett...," Paul started.

"No! Fuck it, I'll say it again. I love him and either you guys can accept it and we can move on or we're going to have huge problems. I hope you guys will make the right decision."

Jon started to walk to the door and Scarlett gladly followed him out. Once they were back to their locker room, Jon quietly sat down while Scarlett paced the room, walking out her emotions. He watched her for several seconds before speaking.

"Did you mean it?"

She stopped and slowly faced him. He patted the sofa beside him and she sat. Her shorts rode up and he put a hand on her bare thigh, squeezing gently, encouraging her to answer him. She gave him a small grin.

"Yeah, I meant it. Please don't think that I would ever say that just to prove a point to them. I know I got a little heated in there, but that's not why I said it either. I've wanted to when we were in Vegas and I know it's soon for me cause you've felt things for me for a long time and we just got together, but...whatever, I feel it. I love you, baby. And my family...they'll come around. They have to."

"And if they don't?"

"Well then, I'll deal with that if it comes."

"No, baby...we'll deal with it, together. I love you too, Scar."

She smiled big at him and he returned it. Kissing her hard, they made out for a while until Joe came in, gagged and Scarlett, with a wicked grin, quickly excused herself to get ready for the show.

_Meanwhile..._

Back in Stephanie's office, the two couples were deep in conversation about what had just happened. Stephanie looked at her father, who'd been largely silent since the younger duo had left.

"What are you thinking, dad?"

"You were right earlier, Stephanie. They'll never work but your sister...she's stubborn. The way she was talking about welcoming him into the family. The boy can never be a part of this family. Look at him, he's trash. He's not good enough for this family or my daughter. But we have to be careful about this. If we just go against them, she'll hate us and it'll just push them together even more. No, we have to be smart. Pull the long play."

Paul smirked at the old man, "So, what do we do?"

"What Scarlett wants. Get to know him. Welcome him. Don't overbook him, but don't underbook either. Just act like everything's fine and when the time is right, we'll strike."

*********khan*********

Yes, this story is taking a new direction, y'all. Hope you liked it and have a very lovely evening. XOXO


	13. She Loves You

Whoo, it's a lazy Sunday and that means story-writing madness! A huge, huge thank you to my many reviewers for the last chapter: **xSamiliciousx, nattiebroskette, Rossi's Lil Devil, HisMnkyPrincess, angelsdee327, ThatGirl54 **and **UntilNeverDawns**. You guys are the bomb diggity.

My new story is up! It's called _Shoot to Thrill_ and I think it's gonna be pretty spiffy, but then again, I am writing it sooooo...anyways, you guys should totally check it out and say what's up. Thanks!

Alright, now this story's really gonna get moving, time wise. You'll notice a big jump here and please know that's going to be happening a lot from here on out until the last few chapters. The song for this chapter is _She Loves You_ by the Beatles.

*********khan*********

_Six months later..._

_December 7th, 2014- Charlotte, NC_

Scarlett woke up sometime around noon, stretching out, feeling Jon's big strong arms around her. She was still sore from being stuck in the car for nearly six hours after the show in Fairfax last night. She laid there, content in her man's arms, and she let her thoughts wander over the past couple months. They'd been some of the best of her life...no scratch that, they had definitely been the best months ever. She'd never smiled, laughed or had more fun in her entire life. They'd been travelling more and more, especially since Jon's storyline with Colby picked up after he returned from filming his movie. The three weeks he'd been gone had been awful but she had visited him on the set at least once a week and he'd been grateful for it, she could tell. Maybe it was the way he hugged her so hard that she thought she'd break. Maybe it was the way he kissed her until she was out of breath. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the way he made love to her like a madman, like he thought he'd never see her again.

The only dark time had been when Joe had called her in Nashville, telling her he'd just called an ambulance cause his back was killing him and he couldn't walk. She and Jon had rushed to his room and waited with him until the medics got there, trying to calm the scared big man down. They'd gone to the hospital and sat in the waiting room all night during his surgery. Afterwards, they'd sat with him until his fiancée got there and they had to leave to go to Night of Champions. They had spoken almost every day with Joe until he returned at Survivor Series and then happy times were had again.

She was so in love with Jon it scared her sometimes. She could say with assurance that she'd never felt this way about Phil. She knew that she'd been in love with him but it wasn't the same. What she felt for Jon, it was...consuming. All-consuming. If she didn't see him or at least talk to him every day, her heart literally hurt. She'd asked herself several times how she could feel this way about anybody. Maybe, her subconscious spoke, this is what love's actually supposed to feel like. Not having to constantly try to please someone like she had with Phil. No, what she and Jon had was symbiotic, not parasitic. She gave him everything and he gave back just as good. They were always trying to surprise each other. So much in fact that it almost felt like a game.

Speaking of, she could feel his morning wood poking into her. Her mind swirled and a wicked grin spread across her face. She'd surprise him alright. After all, he had woken her up so well on her birthday and she could return the favor. It was his own birthday today and she wanted to make sure it was the best day ever. He'd told her he wasn't big into birthdays but she didn't believe him. Anytime she and Colby had been whispering together recently, she'd catch him trying to listen in and he'd ask what they were secretly up to. She reply that it was nothing and he always said it must have something to do with his birthday. The look on his face was a slight scowl but his eyes- those gorgeous blue eyes that she was so in love with- would always give him away. He was like a little kid. He wanted something.

Turning around slowly not wanting to wake him up just yet, she eased him onto his back, his erection springing upright under the covers. She gently peeled them back to leave him naked before her. Hmmm, she thought, every bit of him looked absolutely delectable. She shifted down and grabbed his manhood in her small hand, stroking him slowly, getting a soft grunt from her boyfriend. She reached out with her tongue, licking the tip and swirling around the head. That got more than a grunt. Instead a long moan escaped Jon's mouth and he whispered her name. Her stomach clenched at that and she looked at his face with a happiness that she'd only ever felt with him. She took him in her mouth as far as she could, running her hand over the rest of him. She started to move up and down, humming against him, and she'd suck him all the way up until she released him with a satisfying pop. Her eyes were closed and she continued her ministrations until she felt his hands come into her hair. She opened her eyes again and met his. He was awake and staring at her with a hungry look, feral and awestruck. She kept going, smiling around him, and keeping his gaze locked onto hers.

"Goddammit, baby, you're too fucking good at this," he moaned out, twisting and pulling on her hair as her tongue licked the tip again.

"Hmm," she said, taking him completely out to run her tongue along the underside, eliciting a hiss from her lunatic, "Just wanted to give you the best birthday ever."

"Well, in that case..."

He lifted her up and flipped them, loving the gasp and small giggle that escaped his girlfriend. He wrapped one leg around his hip while holding the other one up against his shoulder. He swiftly slid into her and she moaned from deep in the throat. He set a brutal pace, enjoying the view as her breasts bounced up and down, her head was thrown back in pleasure and her fingers gripped the sheets.

"Oh my god, Jon!"

He kept going until sweat covered both their bodies and the groans mingled together in a harmony of sex. He sped up even further, bringing her to ecstasy and he followed after, half collapsing on top of her. He caught himself on one elbow and gently eased the rest of the way down and her arms wrapped around him and his head rested in the crook of her neck.

"Can you wake me up like that every birthday?"

She laughed lightly, still trying to catch her breath.

"Of course!"

"Unless one of our kids slept with us because of a nightmare or something like that."

He felt her head move to look at him and when he met her eyes, he saw she was truly surprised.

"Huh?"

"What? You don't want to have my children?"

She laid her head back down, staring at the ceiling, and he started to worry. Did she not want what he wanted one day? He moved up so his face loomed over hers, concern etched on his brow.

"Scarlett..."

Her green eyes met his, "Sorry, Jon, lost in thought. You want to have kids with me?"

"Yeah..."

"When?"

"One day."

"But not now."

"Well, if you wanted one now, sure, but it can wait."

She blew out a breath of relief, "Oh thank God! The way you said it, I thought you were talking about wanting to knock me up tomorrow or something!"

He laughed with her, "Baby, no...I was just thinking into the future. I always do that, you know. I think about us a year from now, five years, ten. Hell, fifty years from now, when we're old and gray and there are grandchildren running around."

She smiled at him, "Grandkids...that's a scary thought."

"I know, right?"

"Jon," she said, a hint of trepidation in her voice, "Do you think I'd make a good mom?"

His mind took him back to a day in July. They'd had a show at Madison Square Garden and Stephanie and Paul had brought their girls to spend the weekend in the city with the company. While they'd had a meeting, she and Jon had taken the girls out for the day as an early birthday present since all their birthdays were coming up. They went to Central Park and got hot dogs with the works, something Scarlett told the girls had to be their little secret since Stephanie never would've let them eat them. Seven-year-old Aurora, or Rory as Scarlett called her, nodded excitedly and whispered that she could keep the secret. She and five-year-old Murphy- Scarlett said she preferred to be called Claire, her middle name- held hands and ran around the park together, oohing at the fountain and chasing pigeons, sending out the magical laughter that only children can create. Jon and Scarlett took turns holding three-year-old Vaughn, the quietest of the girls, who was content to spend her time in the arms of the adults, looking around with curiosity at all the sights and sounds of the bustling city, pointing out things with her tiny hand.

"Auntie Scar, look!"

Scarlett turned her head to where Vaughn was gesturing.

"What is it, Vaughny?"

"A clown! Ooh, down! Down!"

Jon laughed and put the excited girl down, staring down in wonder when she grabbed his hand and started barreling towards the clown, pulling with all her might against her 225-pound frame. She had the family determination, that was for sure.

"Hold on, little one," her aunt said, turning to her other nieces, "Rory, Claire! Come on, we're going this way!"

The other girls ran up and they walked over so they could watch the clown. As they got closer, Claire's hand slipped into hers and she looked down at the girl, who had a look of fear on her face.

"What's wrong, honey?"

The girl looked up, whispering, "I don't like clowns."

As they got there, Jon continued up with Vaughn back in his arms and Rory standing right next to him, all three enjoying the show. Scarlett hung back about 10 feet with Claire and she leaned down to whisper to her scared niece.

"It's ok, we'll just stay here. I don't like clowns either."

They continued to talk while the clown did his bit, twisting hats for Claire's sisters out of balloons. Scarlett saw Claire's eyes light up at the hats and asked her if she wanted one. The girl nodded profusely and Scarlett yelled out to her boyfriend.

"Hey Jon!"

He turned and she nodded at Claire, "Ask him if he'll make one for her too."

She mouthed the word "scared" at him when he looked confused as to why they were standing so far away and he nodded quickly, turning and talking to the guy in the makeup. The clown looked and smiled, understanding, and whipped up an extra special hat just for her. When they were all done, they walked past the zoo and continued to FAO Schwarz, the famed toy store. She told the girls they could have one thing each and let them loose, telling Rory to keep her sisters close to her so she could watch all three of them at once. The girls were in heaven. Scarlett leaned into Jon, wrapping an arm around his back.

"Remind me to tell Stephanie you're welcome."

"Huh?"

"These girls are going to be exhausted later and they'll probably all go to bed early, thanks to us. So, Stephanie and Paul will be happy and they need to say thank you, but they won't so I'm going to say you're welcome and hope she gets the hint."

He laughed, "You're right, the Empire won't thank you, but I will. Today's been amazing!"

"Really? You've had a good time? I thought you might hate hanging out with kids all day."

"Nah, they're great kids. And you love them. And I love you. And I got a New York City hotdog with the girl I love. This has been a good day."

"Ha! All about the dogs, huh?"

"Uh, hell yes. If I'm ever in a shitty mood, just put a hot dog with the works in front of me. I'll be the happiest man in the world."

"I'll remember that. You're really good with the girls, you know. I think they like you. Might help us out with the family."

"True...but if nobody else except you and them like me, then that's fine."

She smiled widely at him, "I'm so glad to hear you say that. I thought they might scare you off with their disapproval."

"Me? Scared off? Never! They just gotta get to know me."

"And once they do, they'll love you like I do."

He kissed her passionately then until a bunch of kids starting saying ew behind them. They both laughed raucously and went over to where her nieces were jumping on the giant piano keys. When they'd finally picked out what they wanted, they went up to pay and the cashier smiled at them.

"You guys are the cutest family! Your girls are gorgeous!"

Jon went stiff for a moment and Scarlett grabbed his hand, squeezing tightly.

Rory let out a big laugh, "This is our aunt and her boyfriend!"

The cashier apologized and Scarlett waved it off.

"It's fine. These girls are gorgeous, thank you," she said, ruffling Claire's hair and tickling Vaughn, who was back in Jon's arms again. They left and caught a cab back to the hotel to drop off their stuff before heading to the arena. Vaughn laid her head on Jon's shoulders and was quickly asleep. When Scarlett saw this, she pulled her phone out and snapped a picture. It was just too cute of a scene not to. He eyed her warily.

"That better not end up on twitter."

"Nope," she smiled, "That one's just for me. Did that lady at the toy store freak you out a bit?"

"A little, but I'm over it. Easy mistake for her to make. We do kinda look like a family, I guess."

"Yeah, I get it everytime I'm out with them if Stephanie and Paul aren't with us. I usually just let it roll and say thank you," she said, leaning back with Claire sitting in her lap, smiling at the thought of maybe having a family of her own one day.

Jon's thoughts came back to the present and he stared at his lady, who had a questioning expression on her face.

"Where'd you go?"

"I was remembering that day in New York with the girls."

She grinned, "That was an amazing day."

"Yes, it was and to answer your question, baby, I think you will the best mother this world has ever seen."

She leaned back against the pillow and he sat up, her relaxed legs still wrapped around his hips.

"You're just saying that because you love me."

He chuckled, "You're damn right I am, but it's true. Whenever you're near the girls, you just radiate this happiness and it spreads into them. Or maybe you guys just feed off each other's happiness. But when they're scared or mad, you handle that well too. Just like with Claire and the clown."

"Well, I didn't want to get close to him either."

"Yeah but you would've been fine if she wanted to. The great thing was that you didn't force her to be near him."

"I was lucky I had you there to watch it with Rory and Vaughny. You enjoyed it as much as they did. You're like a big kid."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"Absolutely nothing," she said, smiling widely at him.

"What about me? Think I'd make a good dad?"

"Of course, I don't know how you could even question it."

"I can and do. Didn't have the most stable environment as a kid. Kinda raised myself and did some really stupid shit."

"But you learned what a crappy parent is and you won't be like that."

"Not so sure."

She sighed and reached over to grab her phone, pulling up the picture of him and Vaughn in the cab and showing it to him. His face softened and he smiled lazily at the image in front of him.

"That is what a dad is supposed to look like and she's not even yours. The way you are around them, you're going to be a wonderful father someday."

He smiled down at her, "I love you, you know that?"

She returned his smile, "I do. And I love you too. So fucking much. Happy birthday, baby."

He started stroking her, "I need you again, sweetheart."

"Then take me. I'm all yours."

They made love six times that day. Twice more in their hotel and then he pulled over to have her again on the way to the arena. It was her fault, really. She'd been mischievous and started stroking him through his jeans while he was driving. He'd told her to stop or he'd have to pull over, but she didn't and so he kept his word. When they'd gotten to the arena, she pulled him into an abandoned locker room and they gone again. Their smiles and laughs were contagious and all during the show, they had almost the entire locker room in a great mood. Jon received so many presents, more than he had for any other birthday in his whole life. It was amazing the friendships he was forming. He truly couldn't get any happier, he thought. Scarlett told him that she had arranged for them to meet up with a couple of people at a local bar later on. When he asked how many was "a couple," she smiled and said "a few." He'd started tickling her and she finally acquiesced.

"Fine, it's just Colby, Joe, Bryan and Brie. Unless you want someone else to be there."

"Nope, sounds good."

After the show, they'd made their way to the Thirsty Beaver and walked up to the door, arm in arm. Walking in, she apologized to him and when he asked her why...

"SURPRISE!"

Everyone was there. Everyone. Most of the locker room. A lot of people from NXT and FCW. Some friends of his from Vegas who she'd gotten to know during her trips there with him. A couple of guys from IPW and CZW. Hell, even Paul and Stephanie were there. Close to 125 filled the tiny bar and his eyes exploded. She had done this for him. She'd gotten all these people, 98% of whom he actually liked, into one room and she'd done it all for him, just to see him smile. He did in fact smile at her and pulled her close, loving the huge grin on her face.

"I got you, didn't I?"

"You did, baby. Thank you."

"Happy Birthday, Jon," she said, kissing him hard.

"This is what you and Colby have been so conspiratorial about."

She nodded excitedly and looked over to the two-toned man, who was grinning and laughing at the look on Jon's face.

"Well, I'll have to punch him in the gut then. Make him think I hate it."

She laughed maniacally and wished him luck with that. They walked further into the room and he did indeed lightly punch Colby in the stomach. He had him believing this was the worst idea for about two seconds before Scarlett's shaking head gave him away. Colby was so happy they'd pulled this off that he ended up buying shots for everyone and then his eyes bulged when the barkeep said how much it was. Scarlett laughed and said to set it up and she'd pay for half, Colby thanking her profusely.

"Oh God, Scar, if Leigh saw that I'd spent close to a thousand dollars on just one round of shots, she'd kill me!"

"Well then, think before you speak, pup."

He laughed, "You know I can't do that. I just always need you around to keep me in check."

"Well, I'll always be here. Now, come up, flash some plastic. They're not going to give us all these without us paying first."

The night was so much fun. Paul and Stephanie stayed for only one drink but came up and said goodbye before leaving, hugging Scarlett and shaking Jon's hand, telling him he was doing really good in his story with Bray Wyatt. When they'd walked away, Scarlett arched her eyebrow at him.

"I think they might finally be fine. I thought for sure when I invited them, they'd make up some excuse but they came and then to say that...I think you might have won them over, baby."

He smiled and kissed her. She was right, maybe. Her family had shown great improvement over the months, actually talking to him about things other than business and getting to know him as a person. It felt nice, like he was being welcomed finally.

The night continued and soon enough, everybody was too drunk to feel anything except happiness. Everyone came up and talked to Jon, wishing him a happy birthday. She loved when one of his buddies from the indies would remind him of an old story and she'd see the light radiating from his eyes. He would laugh raucously and then they would tell her the story and it usually ended with her in stitches, laughing so hard at her boyfriend's past antics. She wished every night could be like this.

When they eventually left as the bar was closing and got back to the hotel, he stripped off his clothes in the middle of the room and grabbed her, doing the same. They fell onto the bed, completely lost in each other, and made love so passionately that afterwards, neither one of them wanted to move. He pulled her into his arms, kissing the top of her head and nuzzling his nose into her hair.

"Best birthday ever."

"You're welcome, baby. God, I love you."

"I love you too."

"Hey," she said, propping her chin on his chest, looking up at him, "We have Christmas Eve and Day off this year. Do you wanna come home with me?"

"Absolutely baby."

"I mean, unless you wanted to go to Ohio to see anybody."

He sighed, "Baby, there's nobody in Cincy who I want to see. They're not my family. You are."

She kissed him hard, "That's so fucking sweet, g-man. Do you mind spending the day with my family?"

"Is it going to be everybody?"

"Yep...Mom, Dad, Paul, Stephanie, the girls, Shane and his wife Marissa and their boys as well."

"Damn, are you sure they want me there?"

"I was talking to my parents and they actually asked if I was bringing you. I asked if it was ok and they said absolutely. I think they might want you there, like, not just for me, ya know? My parents want to really know you."

"Really?"

"Yep," she smiled, "So you want to come?"

"Yes, for sure. It's gonna be great."

They both smiled broadly and settled in to sleep, knowing they had to get up in the morning to head to Greensboro for Raw the next night. She was so fucking happy and he was too and they looked towards their surely bright future, knowing it would be amazing.

*********khan*********

I'm really trying to fit in as much happiness as I can. You guys don't even know how crazy this is about to get! I have a feeling you guys might hate me. :(


	14. Fairytale of New York

So sorry this took so long to get to you guys! I worked about 65 hours in the last six days and I was just too exhausted. Christmas in the retail world sucks so bad! Anyways, a rip-roaring YOU ARE SO FUCKING AMAZING to all my reviewers for the last chapter: **nattiebroskette, angelsdee327, Rossi's Lil Devil, xSamiliciousx, UntilNeverDawns, Emmettluver2010, ThatGirl54, kittybarrett, and DeeMarie426**. I love y'all!

_So happy Christmas, I love you baby. I can see a better time when all our dreams come true._  
>-The Pogues,<em> Fairytale of New York<em>  
>(aka the Best Christmas Song. EVER.)<p>

*********khan*********

_December 24, 2014- Greenwich, CT_

It was Christmas Eve and Jon and Scarlett had just arrived at Westchester County Airport. They were taking a cab to Scarlett's house in Greenwich to freshen up and then were going over to her parents' house to spend the rest of the day with her family. Scarlett was excited. Christmas was, after all, the McMahon family's favorite holiday and that extended into her. She loved everything about it: the food, the presents, the drinking. What she loved the most, however, was that it was the guaranteed one time in the year that all her family was under the same roof. Ever since Shane had left the company in 2009 and her father had stepped down from such an active role on television, she hardly ever got to enjoy her entire family at once. So she always looked forward to this day every year and this year, it was even more special because Jon was with her. Last year, it had been just six days since she had discovered Phil's true colors and she was a wreck and it showed, but her family was super supportive and understanding. The three years before that, she had thought Phil and her were happy and in love and he'd been with her at her parents' house, but somehow, they'd always leave early because Phil would get bored and pissy. But this year, she was certain nothing was going to go wrong. This was going to be the best christmas ever.

Jon, on the other hand, was sweating bullets. He was so nervous about being around her whole family. When she'd asked him to come home with her for Christmas, he agreed just because he wanted to wake up on Christmas morning next to her and he had told himself that he'd be fine around her family. Hell, as long as Scarlett was with him and loved him and was happy, what did it matter about the rest of them? Turns out, it meant a lot, at least to his psyche. What if Shane and his wife didn't like him? What if being around the entire family highlighted all his failings and deficiencies even more? He did feel like things with the McMahons were getting progressively better. Paul and Stephanie actually smiled at him now and seemed genuinely interested in him as a person. The few times he'd seen Vince since the summer, the man had shook his hand and boisterously asked him how his life was and how him and Scarlett were. Maybe, just maybe, things were going to turn out well.

It helped that her nieces loved him. Rory, Claire and Vaughn were almost as excited to see him now as they were their aunt. Rory would tell him all about her school and what she was learning. Claire would beam as she talked about singers and she would even belt out a tune by her new favorite. Her current one was Ariana Grande. He could tell she was going to have some good pipes just like Scarlett. Little Vaughn, always the quiet, sneaky one, would just appear by his leg, holding her arms out.

"Up, Jon, up!"

He always did as she commanded and she'd spend the majority of the day being held in his big, strong arms. Holding her like that, he couldn't help but imagine having a child of his own, preferably with the lady currently next to him in the cab. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't had dreams of them living in a beautiful house with several small rugrats running around with broad smiles on their faces. But they had plenty of time for that. They weren't even 30 yet so he was happy to enjoy this time now when it was just the two of them.

Before he knew it, they had arrived at her house, dropped their bags, gotten changed and were now pulling up to her parents' house. Well, not a house. It was a fucking mansion. Jon had never been here and as they drove up the very long driveway, his eyes got bigger and bigger.

"Holy shit, Scar..."

She smiled, taking his hand that was fidgeting on his thigh.

"I know, it's big but what else do you expect from my father? When we first moved here, the people looked down their noses at him for being involved in wrestling so he had to stick it to them and have the biggest property with the biggest house imaginable. Did you know that's how he got the idea for Paul and Hunter Hearst Helmsley? He based it off all the rich assholes around here."

"I didn't know that."

"Yeah, he got some of his best ideas from being around the culture up here."

They parked and Scarlett looked around at the other cars.

"Looks like Stephanie, Paul and the girls are already here. Don't see Shane's car..."

He heard her trail off and noticed her strange expression.

"What the fuck are they doing here?"

"Who?"

After getting the bags with the presents out of the car, he joined her behind one car and he saw the license plate read "Rossi #1." Classy, Jon though sarcastically.

Scarlett sighed, "No, they didn't..."

"Who is it, babe?"

She looked over to him, exasperation in her green eyes, "Someone invited the Rossis. My parents are friends with them and they have a son, Michael. He and I dated back in the day. It only lasted for a year but after six months, all anyone in our families talked about was us getting married and having babies. We were nineteen, for fucking sake! Anyways, it ended thankfully but ever since then, it's always been a little awkward between me and him and his parents. They still think I did something to cause him to break up with me when the truth was he met some dumb little blonde thing at college and wanted to fuck her. At least he had the good grace to break it off before he did that."

He slid his arm around her back, "True. Don't worry, babe. I think, by comparison, they'll have a lot more to say about me than you this year."

"Whatever, I won't let them put you down. I love you too much to watch you get discarded by them."

"Love you too, baby, and thank you, but I can handle myself around snobby people. Been doing it for a long time now. If they're nice, I'll be nice too, but if not..."

"You'll go full Ambrose on them."

He laughed, "Maybe not full Ambrose. I am in your family's house, after all, and I still want them to like me."

"Ok, so we'll both be calm, cool and collected?"

"As best we can."

She smiled widely at him and took his hand, "Alright, let's do this. You ready?"

He had to smile back at her nervous enthusiasm, "Yep. Let's show these people how to party."

She let out another laugh and shook her head at him as she used her key and let them in. The house was gorgeous and pristine as he had expected, not a speck of dirt anywhere to be seen. He followed her through to the study where they could hear voices resonating. When they entered, all eyes turned to them, spotlighting the couple and making Jon's nerves flutter again.

"There's my baby girl!"

Her father came up and wrapped her in a massive hug and she returned it, always enjoying the feeling of being in her father's arms. When he let her go, she turned to hug and kiss her mother on the cheek while her father shook Jon's hand and welcomed him into his home. They said hello to Paul and Stephanie, who they'd seen just two days ago, and only then did Scarlett turn to the other people in the room.

"Mr. and Mrs. Rossi, how are you?"

They smiled widely at her and both hugged her, asking how she was doing. It startled her a little and Jon too. From what she had said outside, neither one of them had expected such a warm greeting but not wanting to stir the pot, both accepted it and relaxed a little. Jon did notice the son of the two older people staring at him with curiosity, but he could stare people down too and so he did momentarily until he felt Scarlett's hand on his arm.

"Jon, I'd like you to meet David and Vanessa Rossi. Our families have known each other for quite some time. Mr. and Mrs. Rossi, this is my boyfriend, Jonathan Good."

They each shook his hand and smiled pleasantly in only the way rich, white people can. He could feel the plasticity of it but shrugged it off. Scarlett also introduced him to Michael and, as the two men shook hands, Jon definitely felt the man applying a little more pressure than was needed. He smirked. This man- no, this boy- had no idea what he was doing or who he was trying to intimidate. Jon knew people who would've made this guy piss his pants in two seconds flat. Michael turned his attention back to Scarlett.

"So Scarlett, it looks like you're doing better. Your sister mentioned there was some ugly business between you and a guy last year. I'm sorry for that, but you seem happy now. Am I wrong?"

She slid her hand into Jon's, squeezing tightly, "You aren't. There were some unfortunate things that occurred but now, everything's better. I'm happier than ever. And you? How's...Claudia, was it?"

"Um, we just got divorced this year. Seems I made a mistake leaving you for her."

"Oh, well, hindsight, ya know...and Michael Jr., how's he? He must be six or seven now, right?"

"Seven and growing taller every day. He'll be your guy here's height before I know it. Say, Jon, how tall are you?"

Jon gave a small smirk and answered that he was 6'4".

"Wow, if Mikey gets that big, I'll have to set up a basketball hoop at the house. And what do you do, Jon?"

"I'm a wrestler for the company."

"Oh...same as Paul, huh? You McMahon girls do enjoy your athletes, don't you? So how long have you been wrestling?"

"Uh, started when I was 16 so...thirteen years now."

"Wow. And you like it?"

"Love it, would never do anything else."

"Well, it's nice that you guys get to travel together and see each other all the time. If it were me, I'd be so afraid of getting injured and having to be laid up at home for months on end. Be kinda scared my girl would start looking for someone else if we were separated like that."

Jon and Scarlett were both confused by his weird statement. What was he implying?

"Michael, it's all about being in peak physical conditioning, which Jon is. If you let the conditioning slide, then yeah, you are more at risk for injury but I can tell you that if something unfortunate did happen to him, I'd take some time off myself to help him out. That's what people who truly love each other do. Now, if you'll excuse us."

They turned away, toward Paul and Stephanie, and he whispered to her.

"What was that?"

"No idea. It was weird."

"I felt like he was trying to start a dick measuring contest with me."

"You'd win...literally and figuratively."

He smiled at her, "I didn't need to know that, but thanks."

They reached her sister and brother-in-law, who were sitting on the couch, talking to Linda.

"Hey Steph, are the girls upstairs? We wanted to go say hello."

"Yes, they're with Gloria. Shane just texted and they should be here soon."

"Ok, we'll be back down in a bit then."

They left the study and headed upstairs to where the girls were. When the three youngest members of the family saw them, they all squealed and ran up, crashing into their aunt and her boyfriend and hugging them.

"How are my favorite girls?" Scarlett asked.

Claire answered, "We're great, Aunt Scarlett! Oh my God, have you heard Taylor Swift's new album? It's so good! I've been learning This Love. Can I sing it for you later?"

"Of course, sweetheart! I'd love to hear it," Scarlett smiled. Only her niece could make her listen to anything having to do with Taylor Swift.

Rory laughed, "It's not really that good."

Claire looked crushed and Scarlett stared wide-eyed at her eldest niece, "Aurora Rose, you apologize to her now! That was rude and just downright mean. You should be ashamed of yourself."

Rory looked down, shrinking into herself, "I'm sorry, Claire, I didn't mean it."

Claire had teared up, "Yes, you did."

"No, I really didn't. I'm sorry!"

Claire looked up at her sister, "Don't say anything like that again."

"I won't, I promise," the two sisters hugged it out and Scarlett looked at Jon, both relieved that no crying had happened and everything was resolved. A hand pulled at Jon's pants, making him tear his gaze away from her.

"Up, Uncle Jon, up!"

The word Uncle surprised him, but he quickly recovered and pulled the small girl up into his arms. Claire rolled her eyes. Scarlett noticed and had to quickly cover her smile at yet another McMahon girl sharing the trait.

"Vaughn, Mommy told you he's not our uncle unless they get married!"

The little girl pouted, "Oh yeah, I forgot."

Jon smiled, "Well, it's ok with me if you call me that. How about we ask Aunt Scarlett, huh?"

He looked at her, smiling widely, dimples on display, "How about it? Ok if they call me Uncle?"

She couldn't help but grin back, "Yeah, it's fine with me."

Vaughn clapped her hands, "Yay! Uncle Jon, Mommy and Daddy said they have a surprise for you and Auntie Scarlett but we can't tell you what it is."

Rory groaned, "Vaughn! We weren't even supposed to tell him that!"

Scarlett laughed, "It's alright, girls. We'll pretend we don't even know it's coming."

"Good, Mom and Dad would be so mad at us."

Scarlett rolled her eyes and assured the girls that they wouldn't. They were with them for about 10 more minutes before they heard a thunderous herd of footsteps coming towards them. The door opened and three boys ran in and the girls got even more excited. Even Vaughn, loving her perch on Jon's arm, demanded to be put down and ran to join the fray. Scarlett looked at poor Gloria, the nanny, and wished her well before taking Jon over to meet her nephews. They all hugged their favorite aunt and she asked them how everything was going in their lives. Once they'd gotten past that, she took Jon's arm and brought him forward.

"Boys, I'd like to you to meet someone special. This is Jon."

Eight-year-old Kenny raised an eyebrow at her, "Aunt Scarlett, that's Dean Ambrose."

"Ahhh, so your dad is letting you watch the show. He told me he wasn't. Well, it's the same thing as Uncle Paul. On tv, he's Triple H, but here, he's Paul."

Ten-year-old Declan piped up, "So, on tv, you're Dean Ambrose but your name is really Jon?"

"Yep," Jon smiled.

"So, boys, this is Jon and Jon, this," she said, pointing at each nephew in turn, "is Declan. He loves video games! He'd whoop your butt in Call of Duty, isn't that right, Dec?"

"Absolutely! Have you played Advanced Warfare yet? I've gotten so good!"

"Not yet, but it's on the ever-growing list you keep giving me. This guy who correctly guessed your wrestling name is Kenyon and he's the next Neil Peart. Kid can wail on some drums. What's the newest song you've learned, Kenny?"

"I'm working on Whole Lotta Love by Zeppelin. It's got some hard rolls in it, but I'll get it soon."

"Awesome, dude. I'm sure you'll have it down in no time! And last but never least is the little guy attached to my leg down here," she said, ruffling the youngest McMahon's dark hair. She picked him up and he smiled shyly at Jon.

"This is Rogan. He's four and by far my favorite of all these hellions!"

"Hey!" Five pairs of small eyes landed on her.

"I'm just kidding! I love all of you equally!"

She squeezed Rogan and whispered in his ear, "Totally not kidding, Ro."

He laughed and hugged her back, enjoying his place in his aunt's arms.

"Alright, kids, we gotta go back downstairs and be adults for a while, but we'll see you guys later for dinner and presents!"

"Presents! Yes!" This came from all six of them and the couple had to laugh at their enthusiasm. Once they exited the nursery, Scarlett was still smiling gleefully all the way back downstairs.

"Oh my god, Jon, I love those kids! I think they're the main reason I love christmas so much."

"Yeah I can see it on your face. You'd do anything for those kids, wouldn't you?"

"Yep, I need to get the boys' initials added to my tattoo. Ya know, the one of the girls' initials. I keep meaning to and just haven't had the time yet."

"Why didn't you get them when you got it done?"

"Ah, well, when I got it, Shane and I had just had a huge fight."

"Really? About what?"

"Uh, it was the first christmas that I brought Phil home. Everyone in the family was still a little sore about Shane leaving the company. So there was that tension and then him and Phil didn't get along. I think Shane could see that Phil's intentions weren't what they should be and they had it out and you know me, stubborn to the end. I was so in love with that asshole that I couldn't see clearly and I blamed Shane for the whole thing. Thought I knew what was best so we had it out big time."

"But you guys are fine now, right?"

"Oh yeah, the rest of the time I was with Phil, he and I just agreed not to talk about my relationship and they would kind of just ignore each other whenever we were all here. Last christmas, I don't know if I would've gotten through the day if it hadn't been for Shane. I was so sad and pathetic and he took care of me, just like a good big brother. We went up to his old bedroom and we listened to Radiohead on his stereo up there and he let me cry and told me everything would be ok."

"Sounds pretty awesome."

"It was. Come on, let's get in there. I want to hug him now."

They went in and she flew across the room to her brother. Jon walked over and smiled at the animated conversation they had already lapsed into. He noticed a smaller, dark-haired woman standing beside Shane and Scarlett hugged her hard before motioning to Jon. He came to her side and she linked her hand with his, entwining their fingers.

"Jon, this is Shane and his wife, Marissa."

Shane shook his hand enthusiastically, grinning at his sister's boyfriend.

"Really nice to meet you, man. Scarlett's done nothing but gush about you on the phone ever since you guys got together."

"Shane!"

Jon smiled, "That's great. I'd like to hear more about this gushing."

Scarlett lightly swatted him on the arm, "No, you wouldn't and Shane, shut up!"

"Oh, little sister, it's my job to embarrass you. Older brother's right!"

"Yeah, well, I can also be a pain in your ass just like I was when I was a kid if you don't keep your mouth closed. We saw the boys upstairs. They are getting so big!"

Marissa joined in, "I know, right? As soon as we buy them new shoes or clothes, they are almost too big for them and they haven't even hit puberty yet! God help us when they get to that age."

"I feel bad for you there but they're such great kids. Kenny told me he's learning Zeppelin songs. Who'd he get that from?"

Shane raised his hand, "Guilty. We were in the car and Stairway came on. You know how much I love that band."

"Yep, I do. I got him the entire AC/DC discography as his present. The good stuff anyway...High Voltage to For Those About to Rock."

"Nice! Those'll probably end up in my car."

"Uh, no they won't. They're for my nephew's education and better stay with him. Rip them to your phone and stop stealing from your son."

They all laughed at that and the day continued. Scarlett and Jon were enjoying themselves immensely. Everybody was drinking a bit and the feeling of the room got looser and more free as the afternoon rolled on. Our couple stuck to bourbon and watched each other, not wanting the other to get sloppy. They kept laughing and kissing, so happy that the day was going so well. They had just finished dinner with the kids and Vince clapped his hands happily, enjoying his family all around him. He gestured for all his grandchildren to come around him and once they did, he leaned down and whispered conspiratorially.

"Who think it's a good idea for...PRESENTS?!"

All six jumped up and down and shouted, "ME!"

The adults laughed and Vince, with the children, led them all into the family room where a giant tree was set up with all the presents and everybody oohed and ahhed at the beautiful display. The Rossis were still with them, confusing Scarlett, and she quietly asked Stephanie what was going on. Her sister told her since the Rossis were staying in Greenwich for the holidays instead of their usual travel plans, they were staying the whole time. Scarlett was still a little wary but decided to let it go. It was christmas after all. The season of giving. All of the adults sat and it was decided that Rogan and Vaughn would get to play Santa Claus and hand all the presents out. Each child would grab a present and take it to its owner. It was hilarious and adorable because each child was still learning to read and so sometimes the person ended up with the wrong thing and would have to help the child sound out the name of the right person. Eventually, they got everything sorted and they let each child open up their presents, youngest to oldest. Jon smiled and enjoyed it as each kid's eyes expressed the happiness of opening their presents. He'd never been in a family christmas celebration like this before and again, his thoughts wandered to his favorite daydream of him and Scarlett having moments like these with children of their own. It was almost realized that day as Claire and Rogan sat in front of them opening their gifts. He and Scarlett helped them rip open anything that was taped heavily and gathered the trash into a large bag. Even though a part of him scoffed at the ceremony of holidays, a bigger part of him could admit that he loved this, spending time with the girl he loved and her family who was being so nice and welcoming.

After the kids were done, they were sent back upstairs but not before they got to see the adults open up their presents. Scarlett nearly cried when she pulled out her present from the girls. It was four photos put together in one frame. The first one was a close-up of Rory's face while holding her hand up and making a "L" with her fingers. The second showed Claire doing the same with an "O." The third had Vaughn making an "V" and the fourth just had the three girls hands over each other making one "E."

"Oh my god, whose idea was this?"

Stephanie smiled at her sister, "Rory saw it on pinterest and wanted to do it for you."

"This is so great, girls! I love it, come here," she said, hugging them all close.

They got Jon something too and when he opened it up, he was confused. There were new sunglasses, a bottle of sunscreen and a beach towel. He smirked at them and their mischievous smiles.

"What's this for, ladies?"

Vaughn almost yelled out, but Rory stopped her and gave him a smirk back of her own.

"It's a surprise. You'll see."

Everyone laughed, including Jon, and the girls disappeared upstairs with the boys following behind.

Now it was the adults' turn and they all loved their gifts. Vince and Linda let the Rossis go first and then did their own, followed by Paul and Stephanie. When Stephanie went to open her gift from Scarlett and Jon, the younger McMahon made her hold on, explaining that she, Marissa, Paul and Shane had to open theirs at the same time.

"It'll ruin it if you guys don't."

They all quickly agreed and stared in awe when they opened their small boxes. They'd gotten Stephanie a bracelet, Marissa a necklace and both of the men watches, Paul's in yellow gold and Shane's in white gold. What made them so special were the stones inlaid within the jewelry. Shane and Marissa's had stones of garnet, amethyst and aquamarine in theirs, the birthstones for their three boys, while Paul and Stephanie's had two rubies with a peridot in the middle, signifying their girls.

"How'd you get these?" Linda asked after looking at all the pieces.

"It was Jon's idea, actually. He has a friend in Las Vegas who only makes customized jewelry and so we went to him back in September and he made these for us."

Marissa was in tears and she jumped up to give both of them a hug.

"I love this! I'm never going to take it off!"

Shane had already set his watch and switched it out with the one he was wearing and he stood up too, mirroring his wife's actions. Paul and Stephanie were still in shock, not saying a word. Shane noticed and laughed at them.

"You two ok over there?"

Paul shook himself, "Yeah, it's just...wow, this is great, you guys. Thank you!"

Stephanie echoed her husband, "Yeah, thank you so much!"

The young couple smiled. Jon slung his arm over her shoulders and Scarlett turned her head to him, giving him a quick kiss.

"You did good, baby," she whispered.

"You were the one that paid for them," he whispered back.

"Yeah, but I never would've thought of something special like that. That was all you."

He hugged her to him harder, "Thanks baby."

Paul and Stephanie finished their presents and then Shane and Marissa did the rest of theirs and Jon and Scarlett were the last ones to go. Jon had a small gift from each couple and his favorite was a bottle of really good bourbon from Shane and Marissa. He had a feeling they had called Scarlett to see what he wanted and she didn't disappoint him. Just when they had finished, Stephanie got up and pulled an envelope out of her bag. She stood and handed it to Jon.

"One last gift and we wanted to save it til the end. We would've told you last week when the plan was finalized but figured it'd be more fitting today."

Jon was so confused and admittedly a little frightened. What in the hell could this be? He opened the envelope and took out the paper. It was one of those fake contracts you see on Raw all the time. This one read:

**John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose**  
><strong>WWE Championship<strong>  
><strong>Wrestlemania 31<strong>

He stared at it, wide-eyed but still a little confused. Scarlett was leaning into him, confused as well. She looked up at her family.

"What's this, you guys?"

Vince leaned forward, "Jon, we've seen the hard work you've put into your career and we want to reward that as well as reward you for putting a smile back on our Scarlett's pretty face."

Jon smiled, "Vince, just seeing her happy and knowing she loves me is reward enough. I don't need you guys giving me stuff like this. Surely, there's someone else who deserves it more."

Paul smirked, "Right now, no there's not. We were torn between you and Joe and Colby. You guys are all so magnetic right now that it was really difficult but we all sat and came out with a decision: you're going to win the Royal Rumble and you will headline Wrestlemania against Cena, who's getting the title at the Rumble. Think you're ready for that?"

Jon looked at Scarlett, who was beaming, "Yeah, Paul, I'm definitely ready for that."

Stephanie smiled, "Good. You do deserve it, Jon, and we're proud of you and we know you'll prove us right on the entire road to Wrestlemania."

"I will. Thank you guys so much for this. I'm really, really grateful."

"You're welcome, Jon, and believe me, we're just as grateful for you."

_The next morning..._

Jon and Scarlett woke up in her huge bed. He was on his back with her lying over half his chest, their legs tangled together. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by her smiling face.

"Merry Christmas, love."

"Merry Christmas, baby. You sleep good?"

"Yes, it was the best. You?"

"The absolute best."

"You want your present before or after breakfast?"

"After. Want a shower too."

"Ooh, together..." she waggled her eyebrows.

"Scarlett..."

"I know, no sex in the shower, but that doesn't mean we can't wash each other. You know you want to rub soapy suds all over my wet body."

The image of this went straight to his groin.

"Fuck yes, I do. Let's go."

He leapt out of bed, grabbed her and they went to the shower. There was so much foreplay involved that they ended up back in bed, having the best christmas sex ever, and had to get back in the shower to wash the sweat off. They eventually headed downstairs and ate a hearty breakfast full of pancakes and sausage- his favorites- and bacon and eggs- her favorites. When they were done, they washed the dishes together and ended up in a soapy water fight before he caught her and bent her over the dining table, pulling her leggings and his sweatpants down so he could slam into her again. She was glad she had curtains on all the windows or her nosy neighbors surely would've gotten a show. Once they were satisfied again, they sat on the couch, curling into each other. They had agreed on one present each, not believing in too much excess. She handed his present over first. It was an envelope, much like the one Stephanie had given him yesterday.

"Another contract?"

She laughed gleefully, "No, silly, but you remember your presents from the girls yesterday?"

"Oh yeah, I was wondering about those."

"Well, I told them to get you those things cause it leads into this."

He smiled and kissed her madly, almost putting the envelope down to take her again on the couch. She pushed back, both of them a little breathless.

"Open it."

He did and grinned. Inside were two first-class open tickets to Australia, a place he'd always wanted to go and relax. Sure, he'd been there with the E, but work and vacation weren't the same thing and she knew he'd never book this for himself.

"Thanks baby, when do you wanna go?"

"I was thinking sometime in April after Wrestlemania. We both know we won't get the time off before that and it's still really warm down there during that time. It'll be perfect. Do you like it?"

"I love it! Almost as much as I love you," he grinned, pulling her into a heated kiss. He pulled back this time, leaving her moaning.

"Jon..."

"Come on, I gotta give you your present first."

"Mine can wait. I need you," she said, pouting and biting her lower lip.

"Goddammit, girl, stop doing that, you know it's my weakness," he growled, rubbing his finger over her lower lip. He pulled her up off the couch on top of him, so she was straddling his hips and he ground her down onto her hardened erection. She hadn't bothered putting her leggings back on after their previous session so all that was separating them was the lace of her underwear and the soft cotton of his sweats. Both of their eyes rolled into their heads. If she hadn't already still been wet, she would've been then. His hungry lips met hers and a frenzied makeout session began. She kept rubbing herself against him, loving the delicious friction she felt. His fingers ripped through the lace and he threw her ruined panties across the room. He pushed her tank up and off as well then lifted her up, kissing her stomach and breasts while he pushed his sweats down, toeing them off so they were both completely naked. He wasted no time bringing her back down into perfect line with his throbbing member and sunk into her.

"God, Scarlett, three times and you're still tight. How in the hell?"

She started bouncing up and down, setting a blistering pace.

"Complaining?"

"Absolutely...ah...not. God, I love your pussy."

She kept slamming down on to him and he could feel the buildup of yet another release. Wanting her to come with him, he reached down and rubbed his thumb on her clit in small circles. Her eyes flew open and met his orbs of pale blue. His mouth was hanging open and the ferality in his gaze hooked her. She came screaming his name and he followed closely after, his head laying back on the couch and her name coming out of him over and over again like a whispered prayer. She collapsed against him, both of their sweat-covered bodies gasping for breath. Eventually, he collected himself and wrapped her in his arms before leaning forward, still inside her, and picking the box up off the coffee table. He sat back and put it into her hand on his chest. She was still against his chest, her face in the crook of his neck, and her fingers wrapped around the box. He could feel her smile against his neck.

"Open it, please. Gotta ask you something."

She sat up slowly and her eyes were wary. She looked down at the small box and slowly took the simple wrapping off it. It was black velveteen and her eyes went from wary to very, very alarmed.

"Jon..."

"Just open it, Scar."

She did and nearly collapsed again from relief. It was way too soon for the other box. Inside was a key, a simple, silver key.

"What's this?"

"Scarlett, I love you and I want to be around you all the time. So, what I want to know is, will you move in with me?"

She looked at him and then at the key and back at him and back to the key before breaking out into a huge grin.

"Is that even a question? Of course, I'll move in with you! Oh my god, this is so great! Can we do it tomorrow?"

Her enthusiasm made him so grateful she was his, "If we didn't have to fly out to Chicago in the morning, I would say hell yes."

"Fuuuuuuuck, I don't want to go back to work. These two days have been so great."

"Yep, definitely my best christmas ever."

"Mine too."

"I love you, Scarlett."

"I love you too, Jon. So much."

_Meanwhile..._

Vince and Linda had come over to Paul and Stephanie's for Christmas day lunch with their girls. Paul's parents had flown down from New Hampshire and they were spending their time with the girls. The two couples met in Stephanie's home office and sat down to talk.

Vince sat at her desk, "So, we still on for the plan?"

Paul nodded, "Absolutely."

He looked to his daughter, "Stephanie?"

She stared long and hard at her father, "I don't know. Are we so sure about this? Maybe he's actually the right man for her."

Paul grimaced, "Stephanie...we talked about this."

"Yeah, honey, we did but yesterday, something changed," she said, fingering her new bracelet.

"What changed? You got a fancy piece of jewelry and now you think he's decent enough for your sister?"

"Well...no, but it was his idea to get us these beautiful gifts and Scarlett seems genuinely happy and our girls absolutely love him. They call him Uncle Jon, for pete's sake. Couldn't we just let them be for a while? They'll probably implode on their own."

Her mom joined in, "But what if they don't, Stephanie? You saw the way he looks at her. He'll probably propose within a year and they'll get married and she'll expect us to give him a bigger role in the company."

"We don't know that. Scarlett's always been fine to be in the background."

"When she's been by herself, yes. Heaven forbid things had progressed with her and Phil. He would've taken whatever he could get his hands on. And sure, Scarlett is more relaxed about these things but if they wanted to, they could get married and have children and then maybe the idea would get into their heads that they deserved a bigger share of the company and eventually even that they could run it instead of the two of you."

"Listen to your mother, honey," Paul chimed in, "You and I are the only ones who need control of this company. We've been working so hard to take it in the direction we want and do you really want Jon to have any sort of say about it? And when it comes to our girls, isn't it better to nip this now instead of letting them get more attached? That way they're not so heartbroken when the inevitable end comes."

Stephanie was silent for a few minutes before finally sighing loudly, "Yeah, you guys are right. I guess I just got distracted yesterday. Sure, let's go ahead with this then."

Vince clapped his hands together, "Alright, I talked to David, Vanessa and Michael and they're all on-board to help Scarlett rediscover her feelings for Michael after we pry her away from Jon. Now, we just need to do that. So, we'll start by having Jon win the Rumble and then he'll be incredibly busy all throughout February and March and into April and they'll hardly have time together and we'll slowly just start to put doubts into her mind and his. Hopefully, this'll work and by the summertime, the Jon Good problem will be taken care of."

*********khan*********

I feel like _Meanwhile..._ is becoming my bad omen calling card. Any ideas on what the McMahons will do to try and split them apart? Of course, I already know but I'd love to hear any that you might have. Might even try to incorporate one or two into the story! Let me know. For those of you who read Shoot to Thrill, the new chapter for that one will be up tomorrow night and until the next time XOXO!


	15. Sea of Love

Hi all, just wanted to tell you guys that I so love all the love! I get daily reviews, favorites and follows and they just make my heart gush! We are halfway through this little story and this chapter really starts the last arc. So I hope you all enjoy. This is dedicated to **UntilNeverDawns, angelsdee327, nattiebroskette, ThatGirl54, DeeMarie426, xSamiliciousx, HisMnkyPrincess **and **CallMeJ**. You guys are so amazing!

I do want to apologize for something: Lots o' f-bombs in this chapter! If that offends, you might want to skip this one. I will warn you, though, you'll miss some major fucking plot points. :)

*********khan*********

_Do you remember when we met? That's the day I knew you were my pet. I want to tell you how much I love you._  
>-Cat Power, <em>Sea of Love<em>  
>(Originally by Phil Phillips, but the Cat Power cover is awesomesauce)<p>

_March 29, 2015- San Francisco, CA_

_Three months later..._

"Where the hell have you been, Jon? Your music's starting in a couple of minutes!"

Scarlett was stressed and her boyfriend was making it worse. He was 15 minutes late to the gorilla and she was losing her fucking mind. If this would've been any other show, she would've been just a little miffed, but this wasn't any show: this was motherfucking Wrestlemania! If this show was messed up, she'd kill anybody responsible. She almost meant that literally. He held up his hands and had the grace to look sheepish.

"Baby, I'm sorry. I needed a cigarette. I'm really fucking nervous."

She huffed out a breath but then couldn't help giving him a small smile and holding her hands out to him. He took them gladly and she pulled him into hug, whispering in his ear.

"Don't be nervous, baby. You have worked for this for 13 years and you are ready. You wouldn't be in this match if you're weren't. Paul and Stephanie believe in you, the fans believe in you and I sure as fucking hell believe in you. Now you just gotta believe in yourself."

He slowly nodded in the crook of her neck, "I love you so fucking much. Mind if I borrow a little of your belief to get me through the next half hour?"

"Take as much as you want. Everything that's mine is always yours."

He leaned back and met her eyes then, "I'm the luckiest guy in the whole world."

"No baby, you're a hard-worker and you take nothing for granted. Luck ain't got shit to do with it. You deserve this."

A full smile graced his features and her favorite feature- his dimples- showed proudly.

"I wish the whole world appreciated you as much as I do."

"No you don't, Jon, because then the whole world would do to me what you did to me last night...and I don't think you want that."

He laughed, wrapping her back in his arms, "And it's what I'm gonna do tonight...and tomorrow night...and the night after that...and the night after that. Forever until they put my cold body in the ground."

A wry smile came on her face, "Don't say things like that. I'll have to start lining up a replacement if you're thinking about dying on me."

"Baby, you'd never find a replacement who could make you scream like I can."

"I don't know..."

He silenced her with a kiss: a heart-pounding, breathtaking whopper of a kiss.

"God, you two remind me of when Bryan and Brie first got together."

They separated and looked at the man behind them. Jon was the first to say something, narrowing his eyes.

"Don't even, Cena. We've all had to endure PDA from you and Nikki plenty of times."

The current WWE champion smiled and shrugged, not even trying to deny it.

"Yeah, but I don't think we were ever so frickin' cute about it."

Scarlett rolled her eyes, "Oh come on, you guys were nauseatingly cute. Not so much as Bryan and Brie but pretty damn close."

"Whatever. Let's drop the cute-off and focus on business. You ready, man?"

Jon looked back at Scarlett, who grinned widely at him, "Born ready, dude."

The low guitar scream of Jon's entrance music sounded and he kissed Scarlett once more before walking out.

"Love you."

"Love you back."

He turned into her lunatic and she turned her eyes to the monitor, seeing him come even more alive in front of the fans. He was ready just like he said. Cena followed him out and the two men proceeded to put on a showcase for 25 minutes. During the match, Scarlett watched closely and used the time to relax a little. The show wasn't over but it was pretty darn close and she was happy for it. These last three months had been a whirlwind. The road to Wrestlemania always was but this year had been extra stressful because of all the commitments Jon had as the winner of the Royal Rumble. She smiled remembering the match. He'd been super nervous before that one too and he'd needed her reassurance before he went out then too. He entered at number four and was in it for the longest, followed by Joe and Colby. It was those three at the very end and she remembered it being slightly magical to watch them move in the ring as one again. They still had that spark that had made the Shield so amazing. She recalled laughing when Joe and Jon had gotten Colby on the ring apron. As the two-toned ninja stared wide-eyed at them, the guys had joined their fists together, the old Shield sign, before kicking him off and out of the match. The crowd had gone wild at that and were so energetic for the rest of it, knowing that whoever won was going to be a deserved victor. Unlike so many previous Rumbles, including the year before when Batista had waltzed back into the E and been handed a main event on a silver platter, they knew that the winner would be one of the guys who they loved and truly supported.

The month after that match had been the hardest of their relationship so far. Jon almost never had a day off and she hated going home to Vegas alone. It still sounded a little funny to her, to call Vegas home. Especially since most of the time she had spent there since she'd moved in with Jon had been by herself. She'd told him that she should just stay on the road with him but he'd said no, that everybody needed time off the road even if it was just for a day or two. It was good for people to sleep in places that weren't hotels or eat takeout for every meal. She grumbled and they'd had a small argument about it but she eventually saw his point. She'd spent her time in Sin City making the condo into a home that they could both enjoy and then she would go out exploring a bit. She wanted to find little places that she could enjoy, just like she had in Chicago. Whether it was a dive bar, a burger joint, a casino or an upscale restaurant, she wanted to find places that she loved to make this little desert oasis a true home.

Once, she'd been home alone and had been woken up by the door opening. It was late February and she'd been so afraid because Jon wasn't home. Or, at least, wasn't supposed to be. When she'd entered the kitchen carrying her trusty baseball bat, ready to attack, she screamed in panic when she saw someone leaning into the refrigerator. The man inside had been startled and bumped his head on the roof of the icebox, cursing as he stood up.

"Goddammit, baby, it's just me. Fuck, that hurt!"

She'd instantly lowered the bat and bent down, leaning over it, "Oh my god, you scared the shit out of me. I heard something and you weren't supposed to be here and fuck...I thought someone was breaking in."

"Nope, just me," he said, rubbing the back of his head and gesturing to the bat, "Nice to know you're ready to defend yourself."

She chuckled, "Me and Louis here are old friends."

She sat the bat on the counter and walked over to him, finally hugging him, "How'd you get home?"

"On a plane."

She leaned back and eyed him hard, "Smartass."

He smirked and kissed her quickly, "You love me, remember? So you love my smart ass."

She rolled her eyes, "Sooooooo..."

"Oh yeah, I was supposed to do a radio show in Detroit tomorrow but all the flights into the area were cancelled cause of a massive snowstorm so now I'll just fly out on Sunday with you."

"So I get you for a full day and a half with no interruptions?"

He grinned, "Yep. What do ya wanna do first?"

She quirked an eyebrow at him and he chuckled, "Yes ma'am."

Picking her up, he fireman-carried her all the way back to the bedroom and they spent almost 16 hours there until mother nature's necessities kicked in. They'd spent the rest of the time on a date out at Jon's favorite burger place and Scarlett's new favorite bar. He apologized so many times for not being able to see her more but she'd waved it off. She knew what it meant to get an opportunity like this and told him he'd be a fool to waste it.

"Yeah, I know baby, but I feel like our relationship is suffering because my career is getting top priority."

She stood and straddled him, not caring if they were getting some strange looks. Hey, there were in a motherfucking dive bar. She ran his fingers through his hair and he couldn't help but close his eyes and take a deep breath at the soothing feeling. When he opened them, she was millimeters from his face.

"Baby, do you love me?"

"You know I do."

"Do you believe that I love you?"

"Yes."

"Well, then our relationship is not going to suffer. If I didn't work for the company and never got to see you, then maybe it'd be one thing. But I do and I get to see your handsome face and that smokin' body of yours at least four days a week. That's enough until we get through Wrestlemania and then it'll calm down."

His eyes rested on hers, "Yeah, my body is kinda nice. I work hard for it."

She let out one of her infamous peals of laughter, "All that and all you heard was how hot you are."

"I'm a vain man, darlin."

She shook her head at him, still laughing, "No, you're not and that's yet another reason why I love you. That and your hard-working, smokin' hot bod."

He pumped his fist and she giggled even more, "Now, take me home so I can get you naked and put my mouth on you...everywhere."

They were on the street back towards home in less than a minute.

Thinking about the past brought a smile to Scarlett's face. That is, until she was interrupted by a puppy dog.

"Hey Scarlett!"

"Hi Colby," she said, giving the man a huge hug, "You ready to be WWE Champion?"

"Oh my god, I'm so excited!"

He was jumping up and down in happiness and Scarlett wanted to be just as ecstatic but his glee was coming at the expense of Jon. You see, Jon was going to win the match between him and Cena. He would be WWE champion...for about five minutes. Then Colby was going to attack him and cash in Money in the Bank and win the title. Scarlett wasn't exactly thrilled about it but at least Jon got somewhat of a Wrestlemania moment and Colby definitely got one. She knew that eventually Jon would have a good, long run as champion- he was too good and too popular not to- but tonight wasn't going to be the start of it and for that, she was a little sad.

"Here," she motioned for Colby to sit beside her, "Watch the rest of this with me. I can't wait to see what his reaction's going to be when he wins."

They watched as the match went on. She could see the end coming and the look on Jon's face was excited. It was in his eyes. He was anticipating the moment and it made his in-ring movements even better, bigger and more fluid. He eventually hit his third Dirty Deeds and went for the pin. One, Two, Three!

The crowd went absolutely nuts and Jon was completely with them. The referee put the title in his hands and Lillian made the announcement.

"The winner and NEW WWE CHAMPION, Dean Ambrose!"

Jon's face was crumbling as he stared at the belt and Scarlett wanted nothing more than to run out to the ring and pull him into her arms. But this was his moment...the culmination of so many years of hard work and determination. He eventually got it together enough to raise the belt over his head and climb the ropes, letting the audience see their new champion. He could hear them yelling and cheering for him and the smile on his face only grew wider and wider. Scarlett was smiling just as big until Colby stood up beside her. She knew it was time to take the smile off Jon's face and she sighed, wanting to do anything else except this.

"Go Col and congratulations."

He smiled and kissed her on the cheek before running out the curtain and down the ring. He grabbed a steel chair and got in the ring, smacking Jon in the back with it. Jon went down and Colby handed the briefcase to the ref, telling him to ring the bell. The crowd was in a frenzy, yelling at Colby and willing Jon to bring himself around. But it was not to be. After another minute or so of Colby just relentlessly beating the crap out of Jon, he hit the Curb Stomp and pinned Jon. She grimaced as Colby grabbed the title and celebrated madly. She wanted to be happy for her friend but couldn't.

Jon slid out of the ring and made his way to the back. She stood, watching him on the monitor and quickly gave everyone their last-minute assignments before walking over to the curtain and stepping as far out onto the stage as she could without being seen by the audience. She saw him step up before he saw her.

"Hey baby."

He stopped short and she gave him a small smile, holding out her arms. He stepped into them and she embraced him fully, holding him as tightly as she could. He was soaked in sweat but she didn't care. It was just clothing after all. His head rested in the crook of her neck, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. His adrenaline was wearing off and bone-crushing tiredness was setting in. He stood back up and grabbed her hand, silently leading her through the curtain. They walked in silence all the way to his locker room and he sat on the couch, pulling her next to him, just staring at the wall. She squeezed his hand gently and laid her head on his shoulder.

"I'm proud of you."

He sighed loudly, "For what?"

"Your match was amazing. One of the best you've ever had. You took that spotlight and made it shine on you."

"Thanks baby, I just wish...I don't know."

"You wish they would've let you keep the belt for a while?"

"Yeah but I know that's selfish. I would never ask for that."

"But you deserve it and eventually they'll see that. You'll get your shot, baby. You do know that the next step right now is a feud with Colby."

"Yep, that'll be fun."

"You're right and I'll get to watch it all. It's gonna be amazing because you know what? You're amazing and Colby's amazing and together, you guys are going to change this company and lead it into the future."

He looked at her, smirking, "That was so cheesy, darlin, but I know you're trying to make me feel better and I love you for it."

"Eh, that's me...cheesy but adorable."

He snorted out a laugh, "I was gonna say somewhat cheesy but always fucking sexy...and mine. I'm so happy you're mine."

She smiled widely at him, "I am...always. Now, how about we pack up our shit and get out of here?"

He nodded, "Sounds good, baby."

_Two months later..._

_May 31st, 2015- Miami, FL_

Another pay-per-view was done and Scarlett and the gang were going to Seven Seas for Colby and Scarlett's year-long-in-the-making joint birthday party. They were in a rented stretch limo and starting the party early, taking advantage of the champagne in the car. Jon was leaning forward, animatedly telling Joe this joke he'd heard from the Fatu twins earlier in the day. Scarlett and Colby, on either side of him, were talking over his back, sharing silly stories about their day. They arrived at the bar and walked in to cheers from everyone assembled which was most of the locker room. Brie and Nikki had found them a matching tiara and crown and placed them on their heads before the whole gang did shots of tequila. The karaoke started and a lot more drinks and shots were had.

Brie, Nikki and Scarlett were dancing and Jon pulled Joe and Colby off to the side. Colby was so drunk and giddy that he couldn't help yelling out.

"Dudes, this is the best birthday ever. I can't wait for the next one already! They just get better and better, right?"

Joe smiled and clapped him on the back, "Sure man, of course they do."

"Man, 29 is going to be awesome and then...30!"

Jon smiled, "Dude, I'm only six months away. Hey, there's something I want to show you guys. I've had it for about a week and I need your opinions."

"Sure, man."

He led them to a back table in a corner.

Joe smirked, "Why do I feel like we're having some kind of secret club meeting or something?"

"Because I want it to be a secret, dude. You guys can't tell a soul. You got me?"

Joe quickly agreed and Colby smiled, nodding his head, his eyes going wide at the prospect of a secret. Jon reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. It was the exact same size as the one he'd given her on Christmas day, but when he opened it and put it on the table in front of his two brothers, their eyes widened at the contents. Inside was a ring with a decently sized diamond in the middle of two smaller sapphires.

Colby blew out a breath, "Whoa, man, is that what I think it is?"

Jon smiled and nodded.

A huge grin came onto the younger man's features, "Duuuuude! Oh my God, this is so fucking exciting!"

He clapped his hands together like a small child and Joe shook his head, laughing slightly.

"So when are you gonna ask her, man?"

"Don't know. When it feels right, I guess."

"Well, don't wait too long. Why not tonight? She seems like she's in a great mood."

"Because she's drunk. I want both of us to be completely sober when I ask. You guys wanna hear something crazy?"

"What is it, dude?"

"I kinda want to ask Vince for permission to marry her."

Joe smiled, "That's not crazy, man. It's traditional and I like it."

"Well, you're from a hella big Samoan family. Of course, you like tradition. What about you, Col? Think me asking the old man is ridiculous?"

Colby grinned, "Nah man, I like it. I think Scar will appreciate it, you including her family like that."

"Alright, I'm gonna do it."

"You know man, I think Vince is supposed to come to Raw next week to make some big announcement about Money in the Bank leading into Summerslam."

"Really?"

"Yeah man, ask him then."

Jon smiled, already anticipating, "Ok then, I'll do it."

_A week later..._

_June 8th, 2015- Atlanta, GA_

Jon knocked on the door firmly, so nervous that he was surprised his knock wasn't timid as all get out.

"Come in."

He heard the summons and stepped through the door, greeting Vince and Stephanie, his hopeful future in-laws. They smiled at him but he could see a bit of wariness in their eyes. They had no idea why he wanted to see them.

"How can we help you today, Jon?"

"Uh, well you guys, I um...I wanted to ask you guys something. Sorry, I'm kinda nervous."

Stephanie grinned at him, "It's ok, Jon, we have an idea of why you're here."

"Uh, really?"

"Yeah, you want some idea of what we have planned for you this summer..."

"Oh, well, I'm sure whatever you guys have planned is gonna be fine. This is more to do with Scarlett."

The mention of his daughter's name piqued Vince's interest.

"Oh..."

"Yeah well, I..." He took a deep breath and just willed the words to come out of him.

"I want to ask Scarlett to marry me. I love her and I want to be with her for the rest of my days. I want her to be the mother of my children and I want us to grow old together and I want to watch our children have children of their own and I want us to be surrounded by them and hear their laughter ringing out though our house..."

He paused momentarily, laughing at himself.

"Sorry, got a bit carried away. The reason I wanted to speak to you today was because I wanted to ask for your permission to marry your daughter, Vince. I'd be honored if you'd agree to it."

They were stunned, to say the least. Jon searched their faces for any hint of what they might feel. Vince's was a wall of stone. Stephanie was almost a mirror of her father, but he could see a war in her eyes. He was confused as to why they weren't saying anything but before he speak, Vince grabbed a pen and wrote something down on the paper in front of him. It was short and only took him a second and Stephanie's eyes went down to it. She looked up at her father, eyes wide, but then firmly nodded after he gave her a very stern look.

"Soooo...what do you guys say?"

Vince cleared his throat, "Well, Jon, I'm afraid that our answer is going to have to be no. We do not approve and we will not give you permission to marry Scarlett."

Jon was so confused. Where was this coming from?

"I don't understand. I thought you had no problem with us being together."

"Well, you thought wrong. We thought you would just naturally implode. Scarlett has a knack for picking losers and you...well, we know you'll eventually get tired of all that Scarlett's life affords her. You'll get tired of the privilege and the people and everything else that has to do with being a McMahon. It's what always happens to the people she chooses to be with."

"I love her, man, and she's not like the rest of you. She doesn't look down on people."

"No," Vince said wistfully, "She doesn't so she associates herself with anybody, no matter how low on the totem pole they are. Like you and before you, Phil, and before him, more men who couldn't measure up to the McMahon legacy. Do you really believe that we would ever accept you into this family?"

"You accepted Paul."

"After he proved himself worthy."

"You mean after he proved himself to be just like you, manipulative and selfish, two things I'll never be."

"No, he proved to be smart and trustworthy, two things you'll also never be."

He laughed, "Wow, I knew you'd probably have some sort of issue, but I didn't think you'd say any of this. What about you, Steph? You feel the same way as dear old Dad here?"

She could barely meet his eyes, "Yes, I do."

He really couldn't believe this, "How? Stephanie, you let Scarlett and I spend time with your kids. Why in the world would you let me be around them if you had such a fucking problem with me? They call me Uncle Jon, goddammit. Why would you let them get close to me and vice-versa if you didn't approve of mine and Scarlett's relationship?"

She shrugged. Fucking shrugged.

"Like my father said, I thought you would eventually implode. And sure, the girls will miss you, but I'll explain it to them."

"Well," he said, standing up, "You'll also have to explain to them why their Aunt Scarlett is never around anymore because once I tell her what's happened here, I'm pretty sure she's never going to want to see either of you again. Oh and just so you guys know, I'm still proposing and I'm pretty fucking sure she'll say yes. You see, I love her and she loves me. I can feel that with every bone in my body. It's the first time I've ever felt so secure in anything and I'm going to be the best goddamn husband and father either of you has ever seen and one day, I swear to God, you will regret this."

He started to walk out the door but he heard Stephanie's voice behind him.

"You don't want to do that."

He turned, barely controlling the rage that flowed within, "Do what?"

"Propose. You don't want to do it."

"And why the fuck not?"

"Because if you do...if you get engaged to my sister, we will be forced to tell her a long-kept family secret. One that will destroy her."

He let go of the door handle and gave his full attention to the two people in front of him. He threw his arms out to the side.

"What could be so devastating that she couldn't get past it? Scar's one of the strongest people I know."

Stephanie looked to her father, "You tell him, dad."

Vince glanced towards his daughter and then back at Jon.

"We will tell her the truth that we've kept long hidden from her."

"And that is..."

"Scarlett is not my daughter. She's not a McMahon."

Jon was silent, stunned and at a loss for words. Vince took this silence as a cue to continue.

"You see, Linda has a cousin who got pregnant as a teenager. She was so young, only 15 or 16, and obviously couldn't take care of a baby. She was going to have an abortion but her parents, being strict Baptists, convinced her to give the baby up for adoption. Linda was in her late 30s at the time and well, I don't know why, but something in her wanted another baby. Her aunt, the girl's mother, reached out to my wife, wondering if we could help get the baby placed with a good adoption agency, one that might cater to wealthier clientele. Linda, being the caring woman she is, chose to kill two birds with one stone and convinced me that we should take the baby in ourselves. We wanted it to be kept as quiet as possible so we and her aunt decided to fake Linda's last pregnancy so that everyone would think Scarlett was our natural-born daughter and not the unwanted spawn of her stupid slut of a cousin. When her cousin- Lisa, I think is her name- went into labor, so did my wife at the same hospital. We signed Lisa in as Linda and paid off a lot of people to swear that my wife had given birth to a healthy, beautiful little girl."

His story was holding Jon in rapt attention. When Vince paused, his voice came back to him.

"And you would tell her all this to keep her away from me? Am I really that bad?"

"For my family and the image we maintain, yes...yes you are. Do you think we could bring you into the fold and trust that the pristine name of McMahon would still have its shine in 10 or 20 years? No, probably not."

"That's bullshit. It's just a fucking name."

"But that's not all, Jon. We'll take the name away from her. I will disinherit her. She will be fired from this company. She hasn't touched her trust fund so I could easily rescind that. We will take everything away until all she has left is you. And how do you think she'll look at you then? The man who was the cause of her family abandoning her and taking everything away. You were pretty much abandoned by your family, Jon, isn't that right? Do you really want the same fate for the girl you claim to love?"

He stood, not believing the turn of events that this afternoon had taken. He'd expected to have a great conversation with them and then tonight, after the show, he was going to take Scarlett to dinner and then take her the fanciest hotel in town, propose and then make love to her all night. That was the plan and now it was all going to shit.

"You would really do that to her?"

Stephanie spoke up, "Yes, we would. Please don't make us."

"And what's to stop me from telling her all this?"

"Because you love her. You just said that you feel it in your bones. Well, if that's true then you'll do what's best for her and leave her. She has a strong, loving family who will take care of her. You don't need to worry."

He chuckled, "You people don't know what love is. You claim to love her but you would destroy her life just to spite me."

"It would be you making the decision, not us."

"Whatever, don't play that. You know what this is: blatant fucking manipulation. I can't be around you two anymore. You make me fucking sick."

He turned around again to leave. He had to think about a lot of things.

"Jon," Vince interrupted his departure.

"What?"

"You have one week to decide. If you haven't made the right decision, we will tell her."

Jon shook his head in disgust, walking out and slamming the door behind him.

*********khan*********

Hi guys, I'm going to go hide now. Can't wait to read what you all think! XOXO


	16. Bullet and a Target

Thanks go out to **xSamiliciousx, XxSayaKeikokuRyuuxX, a****ngelsdee327, ****ThatGirl54, RKOSHEILDLOVER34, ****writergrrrl, Cougar3371, ****UntilNeverDawns, HisMnkyPrincess, DeeMarie426, Emmettluver2010, ****shamonticupcake and the guests.**

I'm sorry.

*********khan*********

_What you've done here is put yourself between a bullet and a target and it won't be long before you're pulling yourself away._  
>-Citizen Cope, <em>Bullet and a Target<em>

_New Orléans, LA- June 15th, 2015_

Jon was a wreck in his locker room. He was alone. Scarlett was probably at the gorilla, blissfully unaware of his woes. He hadn't told her anything about her family or the secret they were carrying. He had tried but whenever he opened his mouth to do it, something stopped him. Maybe it was the fact that she was always in a great mood and he didn't want to ruin it. Maybe it was that he didn't want to be the one to put a frown on her beautiful face. But he knew today was judgment day. One thing he knew about the McMahons was that they kept their word especially when it came to delivering bad news. So, did he tell Scarlett about the whole debacle now and face whatever wrath she had? Or did he let them tell her and hopefully she'd forgive him for not telling her? He honestly didn't know what to do.

One thing he was sure of was that he wouldn't leave her. He couldn't. It'd be like cutting off a limb. She was his life, his light, his air, his everything. His world would be shadowed in darkness if she wasn't in it. He didn't know what to do about telling her the truth about her family. But they wanted an answer from him and he already knew what it would be.

He made his way to Stephanie's office and knocked twice. He heard her say to come in. When she saw who was at her door, she smiled.

"Jon, I've been waiting for you. Please sit."

He did and grimaced at her expression. She was so arrogant. They all thought he'd just give in to them without any question.

"I have to say, Jon, I expected to hear from you a couple of days ago. I would've thought your decision would be pretty easy."

"Oh, you think so, Stephanie. Well, if I was going to break up with Scarlett to protect your little secret, don't you think I'd want to spend as much time with her as possible before doing it? I do actually love her, ya know."

Stephanie's smile turned upside down, "If you're going to break up with her?"

It was his turn to grin, "Yeah, you see, leaving Scarlett isn't an option. I'm so fucking in love with her that I can't imagine not being with her. And I'm going to ask her to marry me after all this business with you guys is done. We're going to be happy together and if you guys don't want anything to do with that, then that's your problem. Your cross to bear."

"So, that's your final answer?"

"Yes, but I have something to add. If you're going to fire her, you may as well fire me too. I would hate working here if she wasn't around anyway. It wouldn't be worth it."

"What if we made it worth your while?"

Jon arched an eyebrow, "What?"

"What if we made it worth it? What if I guaranteed you that you would be WWE champion? For real, this time. I could even promise to make you champ for a minimum of, say, six months or at least until Wrestlemania. You'd get another main event in the ultimate spotlight."

He couldn't believe this, "You are ridiculous. You think that would be enough?"

"Then name your price."

"Nothing, Stephanie. Nothing would be enough to make me give her up, don't you understand that?"

Stephanie clasped her hands together and held them in front of her face, closing her eyes momentarily. When she opened them and exhaled a big breath, she looked at Jon, eyes misting over slightly.

"Jon, don't make us do this. I don't want to destroy my sister's life. Whether you want to believe me or not, even though she's not truly my sister, that's what she'll always be...in here," she said, pointing to her heart.

"Then get over yourselves and accept our relationship."

Stephanie shook her head slowly, "That will never happen, Jon. Even if I could...no, nevermind. I can't accept it and my father never will."

"Well then, Stephanie, you will have to destroy Scarlett's life, but I'm gonna be there to pick her up and hold her and tell her everything's going to be ok. We'll get as far away from you as we can and start over and you'll never see her again."

His boss looked at him and he could see the desperate need in her eyes.

"Please, Jon...I'm begging you. Please don't make me do this."

He stood, "I'm not making you do anything. This is all on you and your family. I won't have any part of it. Bye Stephanie."

"Wait," she said, standing up, "What are you going to tell her?"

He sighed, "I'm not going to tell her anything. Like I said, that's all on you. If you want to ruin her very existence and everything she believes in, then do it. I won't."

He stepped out her door just as she slumped back down into her chair. He left with a smile on his face. He had done the right thing, for himself and for Scarlett. Sure, she was going to be in for some heartache if they went through with telling her, but he had meant what he said. He'd be there to pick her up and make it all ok. He'd never leave her. He entered his locker room, only to be surprised by one of his best friends.

"Hey Joe, what's up man?"

"Oh nothing, I was just curious and figured you were the man to talk to."

"About what?" Jon said, sitting down.

Joe joined him, "I thought you were gonna propose, man."

Jon smiled, "I am. It's just taking a little longer than I thought."

"You asked Vince, right? What'd he say?"

"Um...he and Stephanie weren't exactly thrilled about it."

"Dude, that sucks. What're you gonna do?"

"Propose anyway. I love her, Joe. I can't imagine being without her and I don't wanna be."

"Well good for you. Just be careful about her family, man. Sometimes that can cause problems."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what if you propose and Scarlett tells her family and they make their displeasure known? I would hope it wouldn't dissuade her because you guys are fucking perfect together, but you never know, dude. Definitely something to consider."

"Yeah, but we all know Scarlett isn't like them."

"No, but she is still one of them whether we like it or not."

"You're a real buzzkill, man."

"I'm sorry, Jon. I'm not meaning to rain on the party, but if Vince and Stephanie don't support it, I just want you to be ready, dude. I'm trying to be your friend."

Jon clapped him on the shoulder, "I know, man, I know and I appreciate it."

"Ok, I gotta go talk to Cena about our match tonight but keep me updated. I want to be the first one to buy you guys drinks when you're finally engaged. Oh, speaking of, did Colby tell you about his news?"

"No, what is it?"

"Apparently, you showing him that ring made him get his ass in gear about Leighla. He asked her to marry him yesterday and she said yes. So, once you ask Scarlett, man, all three of us will be engaged. You know, I hear group weddings are back in style now."

Jon laughed out loud, "Hell no, man. You and Galina are going to have a super-serious big traditional thing. I can't even imagine the craziness that will be Colby's wedding. Nerdy shit everywhere and a karaoke reception. Scarlett and me...hell, if her family doesn't get onboard, maybe us two will just rent a plane and take you, Col, Brie, Bryan and a few others to Vegas for the weekend and elope."

"Aw, you don't want a big wedding?"

"Uh, personally no, but if Scarlett wanted it, then sure. Whatever she wants. As long as I'm on one side of the official and she's on the other and I get to kiss her at the end, that's all I need."

Joe couldn't help but smile, "That may be the most romantic thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth."

Jon socked him lightly in the arm, "Shut up, man."

The big Samoan laughed and left the room, going to find his opponent for the night. Jon left as well but headed to catering. That night, Raw rolled along as usual and Jon was hanging around at the end of the night, chatting again with Joe and waiting for Scarlett. Before she came along, though, their other best friend came along. Jon decided to have a little fun with the two-toned ninja.

"Hey man, did you forget to call and tell me something?"

Colby looked down, sheepish, "Sorry man, I was going to tell you first thing but then I wanted to wait til I actually saw you. So, I guess you heard?"

"Yeah, I heard. I was kinda pissed that I had to hear it from Joe here and not from my best friend in the entire world."

Colby's face fell, "Dude, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you mad."

Jon was trying so hard to keep up his façade, but then his smile broke through and he started laughing. Joe joined in while Colby just looked confused and downtrodden.

"Joe, I think I had him for a couple seconds."

"You did, man, you did."

Colby quirked an eyebrow, "Huh? I'm confused."

"Big surprise. I'm not mad, dude, at all. I'm thrilled for you guys. Couldn't be happier."

"And now, once you and Scarlett get engaged, we'll all be officially off the market. Oh my god...JOINT WEDDING!"

"NO!"

That came from both of his friends.

"Aw, come on, you guys. Scar and I's joint birthday was the best thing ever! Like, ever ever! A three-way joint wedding would be the bomb!"

Jon shook his head, laughing, "Dude, you just made our weddings sound sorta like a really weird porno."

"Eww, that's gross. Galina and Scarlett are like my sisters and you guys are my bros...and ewww."

Joe pointed at Colby, "What he said, except switch out Lina with Leigh."

Colby grew excited at that point, "While I have you two together, though, I did want to ask something."

He took a deep breath, building it up as best he could, "Would you two be my co-best men?"

Joe smiled, "Sure, I'm totally in."

Jon laughed too, "Only if this means we get to throw two bachelor parties. Joe can throw a kickass one in Pensacola and then I can give you a proper sendoff in Vegas."

He was surprised by a pair of arms wrapping around him, "As long as no strippers are involved, I second this plan."

He brought Scarlett around to his side, hugging and kissing her hard, "So I see you've already heard the news."

"Baby, Leigh called me personally and asked if I'd be a bridesmaid. Now, you gonna agree to be your best friend's best man or what?"

He laughed, kissing the top of her head, "Of course, I'll do it, man. What about you, Joe? You got anything you want to ask me and Col?"

Joe grimaced, "You two will definitely be groomsmen but my brother's going to be best man. It's traditional."

"Man, that's cool. I kinda wish sometimes I had a big family like yours to be there at my wedding."

Scarlett hugged him, "Baby, if we ever get married, you can borrow some of mine. I'm sure Shane would stand up on your side and Vaughn would probably just want to be held by you the entire time anyway. She's the perfect little groomsman!"

He laughed, bringing her into his arms. Once he knew she couldn't see his face anymore, his smile dropped slightly and he looked at Joe, who had a look of worry etched onto his. Their eyes met and Jon felt his heart sinking. Would she even want to marry him once she didn't have a family anymore? She pulled back and he forced a smile onto his lips.

"You ready to go?"

"Yeah baby, let's get out of here."

They all piled into their rental, Colby included, and headed back to the hotel. It was just like old times, with Jon driving and Scarlett turned in the passenger seat talking to Joe and Colby in the back. They were having a great time and Jon momentarily forgot about his worries. They arrived and parted ways and soon enough, Jon and Scarlett were in their hotel room, changing into their respective night clothes. Jon was sitting on the bed in his sweats, watching Scarlett finish cleaning her makeup off.

"Hey baby, can I ask you something?"

She smiled at him in the mirror and turned around, leaning against the counter.

"Anything, g-man."

He took a deep breath, "Are you happy?"

Her brows creased for a second and she finished applying her moisturizer before sitting beside him, looking at him curiously.

"Why are you asking me that?"

"Just wondering."

She tilted her head, still confused, "Of course, I'm happy. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. Guess everything's just so good right now. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop."

She smiled and moved over to straddle his lap, leaning down to kiss him softly, "Baby, don't worry. Everything is fine. Nothing can touch us right now."

"Are you sure? Nothing's wrong?"

"With us, no, nothing's wrong."

"What do you mean with us? Is there something else that's going on?"

She sighed, "I don't know. Stephanie's been a little weird lately. I was talking to her the other day. Now that the girls are out of school, I wanted to take them for a week. Figured I could fly them out to Vegas to spend some time with us."

"Vegas isn't really a town for kids, sweetheart."

"I know, but there are some kid-friendly things to do. I figured we could do a day there and then fly over to California and go to Disneyland or Universal or something. I just miss them terribly. I haven't seen them since Wrestlemania. When I mentioned it to her, she said she'd have to check their schedules. The tone of her voice pretty much dismissed it right away though. She's never said anything about their schedules to me. I've always had access to them whenever I wanted so it's just weird that she's pulling this kind of shit now. And then earlier, she had one of her assistants come up to the gorilla and tell me that she needs me for a meeting tomorrow afternoon before we start taping. I have no idea what it's for but she said Dad was flying in and he'd be there too. Dad hasn't been to tapings in years so it must be really important."

Jon's worry now was palpable. So, Stephanie had called Vince and he was coming. They were actually going through with it and telling her.

"I'm sure whatever it is, it'll be fine, baby. Maybe your dad's finally retiring or something like that."

She chuckled, "Pssssh, his retirement will happen when he's six feet under. That man loves running this company."

"Well then, whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be ok."

"I don't know. I really just hope it doesn't have something to do with the family. Now that I think about it, my parents haven't been talking to me as much lately either. All of our conversations are really quick and rushed. They almost never ask how I'm doing. I don't know...between them and the way Stephanie's acting, I just feel like I'm losing them slowly. Something's going on and I can't figure it out but it's killing me inside. I just want to do whatever I can to make it right and have it be the way it used to be, like after Phil and I broke up, ya know. They were right there with me and were so supportive and loving."

"Do you want to move back to Connecticut?"

The suddenness of his question confused her, "Huh?"

"You sound like you miss it a lot."

"I do, but I also love being with you in Vegas. Maybe we could go to Connecticut during our time off one week. How does that sound?"

"If you want to, I'm with you. Anything to make you happy, baby. You sure you don't want to move back?"

She smiled, "Very sure. The khakis and polo shirts weren't for me, remember? I just wish I knew what was going on with my family. If things don't get right between us soon, I'm going to be sad. I miss the girls and what's going on with them. I miss talking with my dad. I even miss my mom calling me Evelyn. I just miss them so much."

He hugged her, "I wish I could help you, babe."

"You can. Let's go to sleep and you hold me tight. Show me that I'm not all alone in this world."

He kissed her slowly, "You are never alone."

Her lips turned up, not into a full smile but a small one just for him.

"Thank you baby."

They got into bed and she laid her head on his chest, his arms going around her and holding her as close as possible. He kissed her on the crown of her head.

"Goodnight, Scarlett, I love you."

She yawned sleepily, "I love you too, g-man, goodnight."

Her breathing soon evened out with sleep, but he was wide awake and panicked. Tomorrow, her world was going to be shattered. She would lose the family she loved more than anything. When he had been thinking about his decision, the main people he saw were just Vince, Linda, Stephanie and Paul. He didn't think about the girls. Or Shane, Marissa and their boys. She would lose them too...all of them. His hand absently made its way down to her hip. She had added her nephews' initials too: DJ, KJ, and RJ. When they'd been at the tattoo shop, she'd also gotten three Ss intertwining each other over an M. It looked like an intricate infinity symbol. Each S was done in a different color: green, blue and red. They signified Stephanie, Shane and Scarlett and their favorite colors and the unbreakable bond they had as siblings. She'd been so happy when it was done and he had to admit, it was beautiful. Just like her and her spirit.

How could he take that away from her? If he let them go through with this, her world would be annihilated. Everything, including her identity, would be taken away and all she would have was him. Was he really good enough to be her only stronghold? Or was he being selfish because she was the only anchor he had in this world? Was he letting them rip away everything because he couldn't stand the thought of being without her? Because he couldn't breath without her? If he left her, it would sting like a bitch. Everybody would hate him. He would lose everyone: Joe, Colby, any friends he had made because of her. But maybe, eventually, some of those relationships could be repaired. She would never forgive him and that would hurt, but his pain was better than hers. She would hurt for a little while just because he knew she did indeed love him. But just like with Phil, she would have a wide expanse of family and friends to lean on. Him, he had no family. Never had so it really wouldn't be that different.

He laid there for hours, warring inside his head, before he came to a decision. Leaning down to kiss her on the head, he slowly slid out from under her, trying not to wake her. But she was a light sleeper and of course, she woke up.

"Where are you going, babe?"

"Just need a cigarette. I'll be right back. Close your eyes and go back to sleep," he said, rubbing her head softly. He waited until her breaths evened out again before slipping a t-shirt on and grabbing his phone and key card and walking out.

His first call was to Stephanie. He could tell she was asleep when she finally answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Stephanie, it's Jon."

"What do you need?"

"I'll do it. I'll leave her but you have to promise me that you and your family will be there to take care of her. She mentioned taking the girls out to Vegas and California for a week and you have to let her have them. She'll need them to keep her spirits up."

"Of course, she can have them. That's absolutely no problem. Thank you so much, Jon. You don't know how much relief this brings me. I really didn't want her to find out about her real start in life."

"Yeah, that's another thing. You will promise to never tell her anything about that or this deal between us."

"I can guarantee it. So, I'm assuming you're going to want the championship like I talked about in our meeting today?"

He shook his head, "I don't want anything from you, Stephanie. Absolutely nothing. Doing this to her, it's going to be like ripping apart my own heart. Do you understand that?"

She was silent for a moment and he heard the emotion in her voice when she spoke again, "I do. You won't get this, but I really do understand it and appreciate you for what you're doing. When will it be done?"

"After tomorrow, but by the weekend. You have my word."

"I'd appreciate a heads up afterwards just so we can be ready."

"Ok, I'll do that."

He hung up and made his next call, praying the girl was still awake.

"Jon, do you know what time is it?"

"Yeah, Brie, I do. I'm really sorry but uh...I need to ask you and Bryan a favor."

"Ok, shoot."

"Scarlett's been in a real funk lately because of some family stuff and I was wondering if you and Bryan could come to Vegas this week when we're off. I'll understand if you guys have important stuff to do at home, but I think some time with her best friend and your husband would do her a world of good."

"Well, Bryan has to go to Seattle to get fitted for his brother's wedding party..."

_Goddamn_, Jon thought, _weddings all over the fucking place._

"But I can come! Scarlett and I haven't really had any time together lately. I'd love to make her feel better. Thanks Jon! That's really sweet of you."

"No problem, Brie, and let's keep this a secret, ok? Kinda want to surprise her."

"That sounds awesome. I'll book a hotel room so she doesn't even know."

"Sounds good. We'll talk more tomorrow about it."

"Sure, bye Jon!"

He hung up with her. He was happy she would be in Vegas. Someone would be there to take care of Scarlett after it was done. Now, he just had one more call to make and this one, he was really dreading. He didn't even know how he'd gotten her number, but now he was kinda glad he had it. When he'd been doing his thinking back in bed, he'd thought of reasons to tell Scarlett to break up with her. There was only one that he knew would work, that he knew he could make her believe. She'd hate him for it but it had to be done. So he pressed Call on his phone and waited. She had to still be up.

"Well hello, stranger. I was wondering if you'd ever notice that my number was in your mobile."

"I noticed but I just never deleted it. Should've but now I think it might be a good thing I didn't."

"Oh, why is that, handsome?"

"Because I need to make you a deal so I want us to talk tomorrow at the arena...in private."

"This all sounds very mysterious, Jon."

"I know, but I'll explain everything tomorrow. I'll find you when I can."

"Ok, can't wait to hear what this is about. Goodnight, Jon."

"Goodnight, Saraya."

*********khan*********

Again, I'm sorry. Hope you guys don't hate me too much. Believe me, it took a long time to push the publish button. Until the next time, XOXO


	17. Somewhere Only We Know

My heartfelt thanks to everyone who reviewed: **AyeBlaney, writergrrrl, xSamiliciousx, DeeMarie426, Cougar3371, kittybarrett, UntilNeverDawns **(do not destroy your campus. I'll feel kinda responsible over here), **angelsdee327 and ThatGirl54.** I love knowing that you guys are seemingly just as invested in these two as I am, even if I am causing a lot of emotions. Believe me, I'm having my own emotional breakdowns over here as well! Thanks for sticking with me.

*********khan*********

_This could be the end of everything so why don't we go somewhere only we know_  
>-Keane, <em>Somewhere Only We Know<em>

_June 16th, 2015- Baton Rouge, LA_

Jon woke up and automatically wished he hadn't. The previous night rolled back to him and it was like a nightmare playing over and over again in his mind. He'd actually agreed to do this...to himself and to Scarlett. He was willingly going to be the cause of her pain. What the fuck was wrong with him?

The sleeping girl in his arms was blissfully aware of the doom that was coming her way and he was thankful for that. He kissed her on the top of the head and prayed that today was a good day for her because tomorrow would not be. As soon as they got home, he was going to tell her and then leave. His plan was to go to Cincinnati for a few days and hole up and visit the few old friends he still had there. He didn't want to see any of his family or anything like that, but he didn't know where else he could go. Not to Iowa with Colby. Not to Florida with Joe. No, his friends would spurn him and hate him just as much as he would hate himself.

He slowly got out of bed, trying to let Scarlett stay in her happy dreamland just a little longer. He got in the shower and let the water run over him, trying to let it wash away his guilt and self-loathing, but it didn't work. Nothing could help him now. After about five minutes, he heard the bathroom door open and he saw the curtain move. Her arms wrapped around him and he turned, taking her into his embrace and burying his nose in her hair. They stood in the spray for a full minute. She could feel the tension in him and was slightly confused. Leaning back, she whispered in his ear.

"You ok, baby?"

"No, but I'll get better. Just in a funk is all."

"Ok, anything you want to talk about?"

He shook his head and buried his head in the crook of her neck. He realized today was going to be the last time he'd get to do a lot of things with her. Things he'd probably taken for granted before. He wouldn't do that today. He'd cherish every second. So, he continued holding her and then eventually helped her wash her hair, massaging her scalp while she purred underneath him.

"You ever think about changing that policy you have on shower sex?"

He laughed, "Absolutely not."

She leaned back and pouted up at him and he looked down at her, shaking his head and catching her lips in a kiss. He was in a better mood but he couldn't shake the guilt. Everytime his gaze met hers, his gut would sink and he would feel nauseous. He had to be strong, however. He was doing the right thing.

They arrived at the arena and separated as usual, but before she walked away, he brought her in for another hug. She was bewildered at this. He was being extra affectionate today. Not that he wasn't usually, but something about today had him being almost gooey about showing her how much he loved her. Oh well, she thought, I'll get it out of him eventually. Maybe it's just today and tomorrow would be a completely different story.

He watched her walk away and he made a beeline for catering. Brie had texted him that she would be there and needed to ask him something. He walked in and saw the twin sitting with her sister.

"Hey Brie."

"Hey Jon," she smiled up at him, "I was wondering what flight you guys are on tomorrow. Didn't want to be on the same one since it's going to be a surprise."

"Oh yeah, good idea. We fly out at 8:15."

"Sweet, I'll get on a later one then. Already got the hotel booked. So, just let me know the plan tomorrow whenever you guys get home."

"Will do. Thanks again, Brie. She seems a little better today but I think some girl time would still do her good."

"Agreed and I never pass up an opportunity for Vegas with my best girl. I'm excited!"

Nikki pouted, "I wish I could come too. Haven't been to Vegas in forever."

Brie smiled and one-arm hugged her sister, "Soon, twin, we'll go and it'll be you, me and Scarlett and we'll paint the town."

Nikki beamed at this and Jon took his leave from them, pulling out his phone to text the other girl he needed to talk to today.

_Where are you?_

His phone dinged a minute later.

_Right behind you._

He spun around and sure enough, Saraya was following him up the hallway. He ducked into the closest room, thankful it was empty, and she followed him in a moment later. He closed the door and she smirked.

"So, how do you want to do this? Want me to bend over or be up against the wall?"

"Huh? What the fuck are you talking about?"

"You want to have sex with me, right? That's why it's all so secretive. Don't want little Miss Scarlett to find out."

Jon shook his head, "No, I don't want to fuck you. I meant it when I said I wanted to make a deal."

She tilted her head, looking at him with an eerie sense of wonder, "Ok, well then, talk."

He took a deep breath, "I need everyone to believe that I'm having an affair and I want you to be the girl who I'm cheating with."

Her surprise was clear, "What? You turned me down, what, a year ago and now you just want everyone to believe we've been fucking the whole time."

"Not the whole time, no, maybe just for the last month or so."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you doing this? Aren't you and Scarlett like the happiest little couple in the world?"

"That's none of your business. All you need to know if you agree is that we'll have to travel together a couple of times and have a few meals or whatever. I really haven't thought that far ahead. Do we got a deal?"

"Um no, because nothing's clear. So I pretend to be your little mistress, spend time with you in public, and make someone, probably Scarlett, very miserable for some unknown reason...and I get what in return?"

He glared at her, "What do you want?"

"Well, this is probably going to be put me in bad with the McMahons."

"It won't, actually."

"And how do you know that?"

"I just do."

She narrowed her eyes at him, like she couldn't quite figure out what was going on, but she desperately wanted to know.

"Ok, well, I'll want the Divas championship back at some point. I want that...and...hmm, let's see, you'll buy me something...something expensive, let's see...ooh, there was this diamond bracelet in Vegas that I liked the last time we were there. I'll come out with you one week soon and you can get it for me."

"How much was it?"

"Oh, only like eight or nine grand."

"What?!"

"Darling, you want her to believe you, yes?"

He grumbled under his breath, "Yes."

"Then that shouldn't be a problem. Also, I'll need you to sleep with me."

"Uh, no, that's where I draw the line. There will be nothing actually sexual about this."

"But you need me."

"Not that much. Listen, Saraya, either you make this deal and get your shiny fucking bracelet or you say no and you get absolutely nothing and I'll put in a very bad word about you to the McMahons. You got me? Now, do we have a deal or not?"

She stood very still for a moment, but eventually smiled and extended her hand.

"I believe we do, Mr. Good."

He shook her hand and told her he'd call before exiting the room as quickly as possible. He jetted back to his locker room and changed into his ring gear, wanting to see Scarlett again before the show started. He rushed to the gorilla and found his girl, sitting quietly, reading through the script for the night. He took a minute to just stand back and admire her. She really was beautiful, the most gorgeous thing he'd ever seen or would ever see. Her long, black-brown hair that he loved to bury his face in was loose today, so shiny and wavy that it shone like the lights in the arena. She barely had any makeup on, just a light foundation that she said she needed even though he told her all the time that she didn't. She was wearing a simple black, razorback tank with a fitted, black moto leather jacket over that and regular skinny jeans over her biker boots. She looked delectable and perfect and he didn't understand how he'd gotten himself into the situation at hand.

_Oh, that's right, you fell in love with a McMahon, you stupid asshole. She's the perfect girl with the most imperfect family._

It was as if she knew he was watching her because after only a couple of moments, she looked up at him with the most serene expression.

"Hey you."

He smiled, "Hey back."

"Have I ever told you that you only get more good-looking in this ring gear as time goes on?"

"Aw, you're gonna make me blush, baby," he said, feigning embarrassment.

She giggled and he again soaked it in, knowing it was one of the last laughs that he was going to get. She wrapped her arms around him, smiling.

"What brings you to my neck of the woods?"

"Can't I just come see my beautiful girlfriend?"

Her smile only got bigger, "Of course! I always love seeing you. Come here."

She puckered her lips at him and he gladly leaned down to meet them.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, it's just something weird. It'll pass, I'm sure."

"Ok, well if you need anything from me, just ask."

"I will, baby. Did you talk to your dad and Stephanie?"

"Yeah, talk about weird. Dad said he was here to organize some big family vacation next month. That's why Stephanie said she had to check the girls' schedule. She was just delaying because Dad wanted to tell me himself. We're all going to Europe, Paris and Milan and Barcelona! And they want you to come too! Shane, Marissa and the boys will all be there so it won't be like we'll just be around my parents and Paul and Stephanie. I'm so excited!"

She hugged him and he responded, pretending he was ecstatic when he was anything but. A part of him was sad because it really did sound like a good time and he knew they'd enjoy it immensely, especially the time with the girls. Another part of him was angry as fuck. Why were the McMahons telling her that he was welcome when he obviously wasn't going to be there? What the fuck?

He stayed with her for another fifteen minutes or so before the show was set to start. He gave her a lingering, slow kiss before he said goodbye and she smirked at him.

"Now, I'm gonna be thinking about that the whole show. Thanks asshole."

"Love you."

"Love you back...asshole."

He smiled and blew her a kiss while he walked away. As soon as he was around the corner, he pulled out his phone and texted Stephanie.

_Why are you telling Scarlett I'm welcome at this lovely family vacation? That's just cruel. Even for you._

He didn't have to wait long for a response.

_She asked if you could come and what were we supposed to say? We had to say yes! It would've been a little weird if we hadn't._

He understood that but it still pissed him off.

_Well, until it's done, can you please just not say anything about me being welcome anywhere? I feel like shit enough already and she's so excited about this vacation. You guys better take care of her._

_We will, Jon, I promise. We're her family, it's our job._

He sighed. There was nothing good that could come of this.

The show flew by, way too fast for his liking, and before he knew it, he and Scarlett were on their way back to the hotel, him grasping her hand across the console like it was a lifeline. She was in the passenger seat and kept stealing glances over at him. She knew something was wrong. He was too anxious for everything to be completely fine. They got to their room and set everything down and she turned on him.

"So, you wanna tell me what's up now?"

He shook his head, "I swear, baby, I...it's just something I gotta work out on my own."

"And you're not going to tell me what it is?"

He shook his head again.

"Jon, come on...please. I just want to help you."

"Nothing you can do, baby."

"I highly doubt that."

He knew she wasn't going to drop it. She was a McMahon after all: tenacious, stubborn and determined. He had to get her off the subject, but how?

She answered the question for him, stepping up into his personal space. She lifted his beater over his head and started unbuckling his belt, until his hands came down to stop her.

"What ya doing, baby?"

"Making you feel better."

"You don't have to do that."

She quirked an eyebrow at him, "Well, then I need you to make me feel better."

An automatic look of concern crossed his face, "Are you alright, sweetheart?"

"No, my boyfriend is unhappy and won't let me help so now I'm sad."

Jon sighed, "Scar..."

She pulled her tank off and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, letting her fingers run through his curls and raking her nails down his scalp and neck slowly. His eyes closed in relaxation.

"Kiss me, Jon."

He did. He couldn't deny her anything, not right now. He wanted their last day to be perfect and he was ruining it by thinking too far ahead. He decided to just live in the moment until tomorrow, to enjoy her as long as he could.

He kissed her back with a wild passion, picking her up and holding her in his big, strong arms. They made out for a while as he slammed her into the nearest wall and grinded against her, loving the cloud of lust that came over her emerald orbs and the grin that resided on her face. She attacked his mouth once again, wrapping her tongue around her and dominating him. He was so turned on that the jeans he was wearing were quickly becoming a nuisance. He walked over to the bed, dropping her onto her back without ceremony, and she giggled like a schoolgirl.

"I like you like this."

"Well, I'm gonna like you a whole lot more once you're naked," he said, taking his belt off and pushing his jeans and boxers down in one sweep. She was already unbuttoning her pants and he did the same to her, pulling them and her panties down at once. By the time he had them off, she popped the front clasp of her bra and when he looked back up, she was completely naked before him. A growl escaped him and he crawled onto the bed, predatory gaze capturing her. She backed up until her head hit the pillows, mischievously grinning at him the whole time. Oh, she thought she was being cute. Yet another thing he loved about her.

He grasped her by the ankles and pulled until she was flat on her back. He came over her and kissed her forehead. He kissed everywhere on her face except her lips. She tried to move so he'd have to one time and he pulled back, wagging a finger in her face, enjoying the sexy pout she gave him in return. He continued kissing her, this time on her neck. He peppered her entire chest before coming to her breasts. Kneading one with his big hand and flicking the nipple of the other with his expert tongue, he alternated between breasts and then squeezed both with his hands while licking a straight line up the valley between. His eyes met hers and they were wide as could be.

"God, that was fucking hot."

He continued his exploration south, lavishing her midsection with open-mouthed kisses before reaching his desired destination. Her right leg came up onto his shoulder and her left spread wide, opening herself to him completely. He smirked at her, kissing her thigh.

"Someone's eager..."

"Well, stop having that magical fucking tongue of yours and I'll stop being so eager."

He could only smile before granting her wish. He flicked her clit slowly at first, watching her get wound up, before really attacking her with all he had. After a couple of minutes, he added two fingers and starting pumping them in and out of her with vicious speed. She nearly came apart then but somehow kept herself together.

"Fucking hell, baby...ugh, that feels so good."

He continued this assault until he felt her walls start to flutter around him. He licked her clit a few more times and then slowly bit down, causing a scream of pleasure to come out as her orgasm washed over her. His name came out of her like a chant, over and over again, and he rode her through until he felt her start to come down. Wanting to give her as much pleasure as possible, he quickly sat up and brought her boneless body into his arms, burying himself in her to the hilt. Her eyes flared open, gasping at the size of him, and he was having to control every pore in his body to not come right then. She was so tight in her post-orgasmic bliss. So tight and so wet.

"God, Scar, this is heaven. Right here. It's got to be."

She smiled softly at him and nodded in agreement, meeting his lips in a lazy, languid kiss as both of their bodies adjusted and stretched. When she gained a little bit of strength in her legs, she moved up and came back down, hissing at the delicious friction. Their kiss became harder and more possessive and their bodies began to crash together in manic thrusts, the push and pull being sped up more and more. A fine sheen of sweat gathered on both of their skin and it made their movements even more fluid, building towards the sweet release they each relished. She leaned back slightly, causing him to go even deeper into her and he could feel himself slowly coming apart.

"Jesus Scarlett, god I fucking love you."

She looked at him, smiling through the erotic haze, "Love you back."

He reached between them, rubbing her clit with his thumb, and her eyes closed as she felt a rush go through her. She was so close.

"Fuck Jon..."

"Come on, baby. Let go with me."

Her eyes met his again and that was all it took. Both of them released at the same time, calling the other's name so loudly that the people in the next room must've heard them. Hell, maybe they could hear five rooms over. Neither cared at the moment though as they collapsed back to the bed, completely spent and satiated. He didn't know how long they laid there catching their breath, but eventually he moved to roll over and pull the covers back to get under them. He reached out and she grabbed his hands and allowed him to half-pull/half-drag her over and under the covers with him. She laid on his chest, an arm around his stomach and a leg over his. His arms held her securely, his nose buried in her hair.

"Jon..."

He smiled into her mane, "Yeah baby?"

"Tell me the story."

He froze. No, how could she ask him this now? As if he didn't feel guilty enough already. His brain was screaming at him in double-time now. But he couldn't deny her...

"Scarlett, the first time I ever saw you, I was sitting in catering. It was Survivor Series and the Shield was making their début that night. I was so nervous and so were Colby and Joe. We were talking things over when all of sudden, I heard this laughter ringing out and it was so beautiful. I looked up, completely ignoring the guys, and I saw you. You were with the twins and you guys were all laughing about something Bryan had done. I had never seen anyone more beautiful in my entire life and still haven't to this day. Your cheeks were flushed from laughing and your hair were full and shiny and your body...fuck, I'm so glad I eventually got you. I wanted to have you from that day forward, to be near you and not just physically, even though that's obviously great too. I wanted to be your friend, someone who you could talk to about anything. I wanted to know all your hopes, your fears, your dreams...all that corny shit. I was so lost in my thoughts that Colby and Joe turned around to see what I was looking at and I never heard the end of it til we got together. Joe told me who you were and it scared the shit out of me at first. I had heard so much about the McMahons, but had only met Stephanie and she's...well, she's what she is. Instead of talking to you immediately, I held back. Had to know what you were like. Not that it would've mattered cause you were with someone and all. But I swore to myself on that day that I would at least know you."

Her breathing had evened out, signaling sleep had overtaken her. He looked down at her peaceful face and he didn't know why, but suddenly tears came to his eyes. This was going to be the last night he ever held her in his arms, the last time he made love to her, the last time he saw the complete calm that overtook her features when she was asleep. He willed the tears to go away. He willed the guilt to stop eating him from the inside out. He willed it with every ounce of his being, but the tears just kept coming and coming and coming. He held onto her, his anchor, his lifeline, his sun, his everything. When the first round of tears had subsided a little, he looked down at her again, kissing the top of her beautiful head.

"I'm so sorry, baby. I can't say this tomorrow because I'm going to have to be a fucking idiot jerk, but I want you to hear it now. Even if only in your sleep. I fucking love you. I love you more than I have ever loved anybody or anything in my entire miserable life. That day, that day in catering, that was the start of the only life that has ever meant anything to me and I'm so...I'm so fucking sorry. I don't want to be without you. You have to believe me when I say that I really don't. I wanted the dream: I wanted...fuck, I still want to marry you and have babies with you and grow old with you. I want you to tell me I'm a fool whenever I wrestle injured and I want yours to be the first face I see after a big match when I win. I don't want to see you hate me. That's going to be the hardest part because I know...after what that asshole Brooks did to you, I know you'll hate me. I just hope one day that you can find someone who loves you as much as I do. Who treats you like you should be treated and if you ever do, then I'll be happy. Well no, I won't. I'll still be fucking miserable but I'll at least be happy for you. You deserve the world, sweetheart. I just hate that I can't give it to you. I love you."

He kept repeating those three words- I love you- over and over again, even as fresh waves of tears hit him. He didn't want the sun to rise tomorrow. If the sun never rose, then he didn't have to crush her world and his. He knew that was a pipe dream, but as sleep finally took him, it was the only hope he had left and he held onto it and her fiercely.

*********khan*********

You guys, writing those last two paragraphs was awful and then reading them back for grammar errors was even more awful. Where are my goddamn tissues?


	18. Superstar

**Nattiebroskette, Cougar3371, Westie86, DeansDirtyDeedsx, ThatGirl54, xSamiliciousx, writergrrrl, HisMnkyPrincess, RKOSHEILDLOVER34 and UntilNeverDawns**, you guys are the absolute best and I heart all y'all and I'm sorry for making you guys feel all the feels. Are you ready for some more? Here we go!

Was watching Survivor Series while finishing this up. Is anybody else super excited for TLC now? I know I am! And then, two weeks after that, the E is going to be here in Pittsburgh! Yay!

*********khan*******

_Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh baby...I love you. I really do._  
>-Sonic Youth, <em>Superstar<em>  
>(Originally by Delaney and Bonnie, but the Sonic Youth version is haunting and beautiful and the perfect listen to go along with this)<p>

_June 17th, 2015- Las Vegas, NV_

They arrived in Vegas at around 12:30 and were home half an hour after that. Jon's nerves were shot and he didn't know if he could actually go through with this. He felt like complete and utter shit and everytime he looked at Scarlett, traitorous tears would threaten to spill out of his eyes. How he had any more tears left after last night, he had no idea. He'd gotten maybe an hour of sleep before waking up from a horrible nightmare. Combine that with a little jet lag and all he wanted to do was crash in their bed- no, his bed. His bed, he had to get used to calling it that. Fuck, he was in trouble. He hadn't even gone through with it yet and he was already wrecked.

Scarlett was in the kitchen, trying to set up the new coffeemaker she'd just bought, and he knew it was time. He just had to start the conversation and from there, it would get easier.

_Yeah...right_, his subconscious interjected.

He sat on the coffee table and took a very deep breath, trying to will away the shaky, sinking feeling that was devouring him.

"Hey Scar, can you come in here?"

Her head popped out of the kitchen, "Yeah babe, I just pulled out the stuff to make coffee. Do you need me right this second?"

He nodded and she noticed the expression on his face. He looked like someone had died.

"Alright, let me just put the milk back and I'll be right there."

He heard the refrigerator open and shut and then she was padding across the floor, sitting on the couch across from him, and grabbing his hands.

"Is everything alright?"

He shook his head and took his hands away from her, burying his head in them. She sat as far forward as she could, rubbing his shoulders and biceps, and kissing the top of his head.

"Jon, talk to me. You can say anything, you know that."

He took another deep breath and looked up into her concerned face.

"I've done something...something really fucking bad."

Her head tilted to the side, "What did you do?"

He stared at her for a long time. It was now or never. He just had to spit it out but he stared at her and something in her eyes was stopping him. He couldn't puzzle it out for a few moments, but then he realized what it was. This was the last moment she would ever look at him with love in those beautiful eyes of hers. He didn't want that to go away. Fuuuuuuuuuuck...

"I...I slept with someone else."

It was eerily quiet for at least ten seconds until she leaned back away from him, but kept her hands on his arms.

"What?"

"I slept with someone else, Scarlett."

Her hands came off his like his skin was suddenly made of battery acid. She shrunk back, pulling her legs up and hugging them to her. It was back to being completely silent and this time it lasted a lot longer than ten seconds. She eventually stood up and walked around the back of the couch, almost like she was putting a barrier between them. Her hands were wrapped around the back of her neck and she was pacing. He could see the wheels turning in her brain and her eyes were flitting everywhere. Everywhere but him. He wanted her to say something, anything. This silence was driving him nuts.

"Who?"

He was shaken out of his thoughts by her sudden question, "Hmm...what?"

"Who was it?"

"Saraya."

She stopped suddenly and turned to him with wide eyes, "Has it been going on that long?"

He knew she meant since the incident in the club, "No, the first time was about a month ago."

"The first time?"

He sighed, "Yeah, it's happened a couple of times."

"How many?"

"Three."

"Three times...three times," she was back to pacing, "What the fuck, Jon?"

"I don't know, Scarlett. I'm sorry. I really truly am."

"And what...you just expect me to forgive this?"

"No, I know that you won't and can't. I just had to tell you. It was eating at me."

"Was this why you were in such a piss poor mood yesterday?"

"Yeah."

She was nodding, mostly to herself he knew, "So, you slept with her three times in the past month...but you were still fucking me too. Are you telling me because I need to get tested for a disease or something?"

"No, I'm telling you cause it's the right thing to do."

"She's not pregnant, is she?"

He almost rolled his eyes, "No."

She stopped and faced him, hands square on her hips, "Then why are you telling me?"

"Huh...what do you mean?"

"Why? You could've just kept it a secret and I probably never would've found out. Why are you telling me?"

"Because...I don't know."

She pointed at him, rage beginning to boil within her, "No, don't do that. You don't get to do that! Why? There has to be a reason."

"Because...I don't think we should be together anymore."

She faced away from him at this point. She just couldn't look at him, but he could still see her in the reflection of one of the mirrors she'd bought. One of the small things she had done to make his condo her home. Her hands, still on her hips, were pretty much the only thing keeping her shoulders from hunching in front of her. Her bottom lip was quavering and she bit it to keep any noises from coming out. He could see her cheeks getting pink and her eyes misted over. She was so close to losing it but there was still fight in her. She took a deep breath to calm herself before continuing.

"Then what was last night?"

He sighed, "Last night was..."

"What? Speak Jon," she interrupted, "Come on, you gotta give me some fucking answers here. You're sleeping with her but you're still fucking me like I'm the only woman you give a shit about. What was that last night about, what'd you say, it being heaven when you're inside me? The fucking hell...did you mean it? Have you ever meant fucking anything you ever said?"

"Of course, I have."

"Then why?"

She turned to face him and he saw his worst fears come to life. There were tears leaking out of her eyes, making her look like a heartbroken angel.

"I don't know."

"No, tell me. Why?"

"I don't know, Scar."

She flew around the couch, irate anger replacing any sadness. She got in his face, standing less that two inches away from him. There was a wild look in her eyes, a demented craziness that scared him. She was going to break soon but she wanted her answers first. He leaned away but she grasped his face in her soft hands, pulling it up until he had to look at her.

"Why?!"

It was his turn to mist up. He'd tried to hold them off, but seeing her slowly collapse hurt him like nothing had ever before. Knowing it was his fault only made it worse.

"I don't know."

"Did you enjoy it?"

"Scar..."

"Did you fucking enjoy it? Your three times with her? Did she make you feel good?"

"No, I always felt like shit."

"Then why?"

The why came out like a strangled wail and a few tears escaped his blues. He wanted to tell her the truth, to stop this charade, but he was too far in, too far gone.

"I just...did something stupid. There is no reason."

She continued to stare at him, the insane rage slowly being replaced by a fragility that he'd never seen in her before. She'd always had that McMahon backbone to hold her up but now, it simply wasn't there. The tears increased and he could see her mind working, probably full of questions but not being able to decide on which one to ask. After a moment, she fell onto the couch, releasing him but keeping eye contact.

"How could you do this to me?"

He had to get up. If he stayed there, seated so close to her, he'd inevitably try to comfort her and that was the worst thing he could possibly do at this moment. He started to pace himself, but stayed in front of her.

"I didn't want to."

"Oh, you didn't want to fuck her? Three fucking times! What, did she force you to sleep with her?"

"No...I didn't want to hurt you."

"How could you not want to hurt me, but cheat? Are you a fucking idiot?"

Her anger was back and was palpable now.

"You knew...you fucking knew. After Phil," a laugh escaped her, a psychotic, unbelieving laugh, "God, no wonder my sister warned me not to fall for a goddamn wrestler. Nothing but heartache, she said."

Her laughter continued, making her sound kinda Jokeresque, "Of course, I brought up Paul and she said he was the exception. Oh my god, she was right. My goddamn selfish sister was fucking right. She said wrestlers were actually made for each other and that I shouldn't get in the way by hooking up with one of you guys. But look at me, always the rebel. I did it once and got burned horribly and then thought, what the hell, Scarlett, why not try again? Jon hates what Phil did to you! He would never do that! God, I'm such a fucking fool. A fucking, stupid fool..."

She completely collapsed onto the couch, falling to her side, and sobs wracked her from head to toe. Her carousel of emotions had his face buried in his hands, tears flowing out of him. He couldn't help himself. He went to the couch and knelt beside her head, running a hand through her hair.

"Baby, I'm so sorry. You don't know how sorry I am."

Her eyes opened and he saw a flash of rage take over her expression.

"No...," she said, between whimpers, "I know exactly how sorry you are."

She sat back up and suddenly pushed him away from her. He reared back in surprise and she followed him up til they were both on their feet. He stepped back and she kept coming, pushing him back and back while screaming at the top of her lungs.

"You are a sorry, pathetic, piece of lying, fucking shit! You knew what this would do to me, you stupid motherfucking asshole!"

He didn't fight her or even try to stop her assault. In his head, he knew he deserved it. He knew he deserved whatever punishment came his way.

"You said you loved me! You said we had a future and that you were always going to be there for me! You're a liar! You never loved me! You never wanted to be with me! All of that talk about kids and growing old was all fucking lies! I never want to see you again, do you understand? Ever! I fucking hate you!"

She was pummeling his chest now and every word felt like she had a dagger in each hand and was stabbing him in the chest. Her last sentence was the death knell and they both knew it. Her expression became one of surprise like she couldn't believe that those words had actually come out of her mouth. Like she never thought those words would be directed at him. His eyes went wide and tears streamed down his face. She stopped her relentless attack and her face fell, the sobs coming back and her legs buckled beneath her. He tried to catch her on the way down but she shook him off, not wanting his hands on her.

He stood back up, surveying the damage and destruction he had caused, and knew it was time to leave. He turned and walked towards the door but was stopped when he heard her soft words.

"I thought you were different. You were supposed to be different. You were my g-man. But you were right. A long time ago, you told me that you were going to do something heinous and I would never call you that again. Well, congratulations...you were right."

He hung his head in shame. He'd lived up to his word even though he hadn't meant it. Just leave, he thought. Don't add to her misery or yours. He grabbed his wallet, keys and suitcase. He hadn't even unpacked it, knowing he wouldn't be here for long. He took one last look at her. She was still lying on the floor, curled in a fetal position, and she was silently crying, only letting out small gasps and whimpers. He turned and walked out, shutting the door behind him. He heard a wail come through, an earth-shattering scream, and all he could do was run his hands through his hair, silently screaming at himself. He smacked himself in the head a few times before pulling out his phone. He found Brie's number and texted her.

_Scarlett needs you. Now. Come as soon as you can. The door is unlocked._

He hopped into his car, pulling away. He got to the first red light and his phone dinged.

_On my way._

Good, he thought, she'll be taken care of. That's all he wanted ultimately: to take care of her and if he couldn't, to have someone there who he trusted and knew loved her as much as he did. As he pulled onto the highway and the tears still streamed down his face, that thought sustained him. God knows nothing else did.

*********khan*********

Fuck me, that was hard. Where's the boyfriend when you need him, huh? Dammit...I hope I haven't made you guys miserable. There will be sunny moments again, I promise. Can't say when they'll be or how long they'll stay around, but they will be there. Until the next time, XOXO


	19. Detlef Schrempf

Hi guys! I'm not dead. The last two weeks have just been awful. I could go into the myriad of excuses but the only two that really mean anything are: (1) my computer screen on my laptop cracked...on the inside. So I have to replace that. That computer had my draft of this chapter (what was written anyway) and the outline. So I have to redo that. (2) Writing the last chapter completely emotionally exhausted me and I knew I had to take some time before going forward. I just didn't expect it to be this long and for that, you have my most sincere apologies.

Thank you so much to all the reviewers of the last, heartbreaking chapter: **nattiebroskette, AyeBlaney, DeansDirtyDeedsx, Cougar3371, ThatGirl54, angelsdee327, writergrrrl, UntilNeverDawns, xSamiliciousx, kittybarrett, HisMnkyPrincess, DeeMarie426, damnitambrose, Em, Linds, bella315, purelyfictionalstories, hansonkali** (three reviews! you are the best!) **and the guests**. My favorite review was one of the guest ones, the one that just said "Fuck sake Dean..." I laughed a lot at that one.

Ok, here goes: the next installment in heartbreak city. You are warned. I'm going to start watching the Sons of Anarchy finale now so for any tears you might shed, just know that mine are there as well. :)

*********khan*********

_What's it gonna cost to be gone? If we see you like I hoped we never would..._  
>-Band of Horses, <em>Detlef Schrempf<em>

_Dallas, TX- June 22, 2015_

Jon walked into the arena and made a beeline for Stephanie's office. He didn't want to be seen by anyone just yet. He'd been given the weekend off from house shows, but now it was Monday and he had to be at Raw. He hadn't heard from anybody while in Cincinnati but he assumed they all knew. Joe, Colby, Brie, Bryan, Nikki, Glenn…everyone who had told him they'd kill him if he hurt Scarlett. He knew they were all there and the cowardly part of him wanted to avoid them at all cost. But he couldn't focus on that right now. He had to find Stephanie and see how Scarlett was doing. He had to know if she was alright.

_Of course she's not alright, you idiot._

His subconscious was killing him and had been doing so for six days now. Everytime he tried to convince himself that he'd done the right thing, it would beat him back down and make him regret what he'd done. He'd never felt worse in his life. He cried himself to sleep every night and woke up from nightmares, sweating profusely. He had constant headaches and could barely eat. He went to the gym for hours each day just to forget but it never worked. Every bench press, every pull-up, every crunch…he saw her face, tear-streaked and fallen.

He found Stephanie's office and knocked twice before entering. She was seated at her desk, going over the script for the night, and her eyes flicked up to meet his. She put her papers down and held out her hand, motioning for him to sit across from her. He did and just stared at his boss for a moment.

"How is she?"

Stephanie looked down, not able to meet his eyes.

"I don't know."

He cocked his head, "What do you mean you don't know?"

She sighed, "She's been in Scottsdale with Brie since Wednesday. I've tried numerous times to call her. I've texted and left messages but I haven't heard a word from her. Nobody in the family has."

He was fuming, "So, why didn't you fly down there to see her yourself?"

Stephanie looked at him like he had two heads.

"She's being taken care of, Jon. Brie and Bryan have been with her and they love her just as much as the rest of us."

"Yeah, but you said you- her family- were going to take care of her. It's really shitty to know that you don't think it's important enough to go see her."

Her eyes widened, "I do think it's important, Jon! But I have a business to run."

"Please, this place doesn't need you 24/7, Stephanie. You could've taken a day or two and gone and seen her. But no, you didn't and now…fuck, I didn't do the right thing."

Stephanie stood when he said that, "Yes, you did. You know it was the right thing to do. I'll go and see her as soon as we're done here tonight."

He looked her in the eye, gauging the truthful nature in them, "You had better."

He turned to leave, but she called him back and asked him to sit. He very reluctantly did. She handed him a piece of paper and his eyes glazed over it.

"What the fuck is this?"

"Our plans for you this summer. We had that in place a week ago. We were just waiting to see what you'd do."

He glared at her, a nauseous feeling coming over him with every passing second, "I don't want this."

"It's not your choice. This is what's going to happen."

He stood again and threw the offensive material back onto her desk.

"I don't fucking want it. Do you hear me?"

She stayed calm in the face of his ever-growing ire, "You don't have a choice. Money in the Bank is in two weeks. You're already scheduled to be in the match, but now you will win. And then you will cash in the briefcase at Summerslam and you will be WWE champion. At least until the Royal Rumble. More than likely until Wrestlemania."

He scrubbed a hand over his face, "You want to reward me for doing the most despicable thing I've ever done? You want to reward me for breaking your sister's heart? For destroying her world? For causing her agony and a miserable existence? What kind of monsters are you people?"

"The kind who make the decisions no one else wants to."

She said this quietly, too quietly. He continued to stare at her, not knowing what to think. A part of him knew he should be elated. He was going to be WWE champion. It was his dream and it was being realized.

At the expense of everything else: his friends, his values, his beliefs, the love of his life. Everything that meant anything to him was gone and all he would have was a 10-pound hunk of metal and leather for comfort and support. He would be alone, so utterly alone.

"Jon, are you ok?"

He smirked, "No. I'm never going to be ok with this. But like you said, not exactly my choice. You may want to consider turning me heel. It'd probably work out better if you want to put me against Cena or Bryan or Joe."

Stephanie looked thoughtful for a moment, "I'll think about it. You might be right."

"Yeah, well, with my life and mood right now, it'd probably be a lot easier than pretending I'm the good guy."

"Jon, you did a good thing."

He laughed in her face, "Yeah? Tell that to my heart and my brain. To my conscience. Tell that to the fucking guilt that has been eating away at my soul ever since I walked away from her. I did the right thing, but it wasn't good. It wasn't noble or genuine or…fuck, it wasn't anything good. So stop it, Stephanie…I'll do the story and I'll be your fucking champion, but stop trying to placate the situation and act like my world and your sister's world aren't destroyed. Don't act like it's not your fault and the fault of your family. It's my fault too. I know that, but don't try to make me feel better. Don't try to make yourself feel better either. There's a special place in hell reserved for people like me and you and your husband and your parents. We deserve any unhappiness that befalls us."

He left then. He couldn't stand to be in her presence any longer. He booked it to his locker room, just wanting to be alone. He had a match against Nick Nemeth that night and then he could leave. All he had to do was get through that match. He found the locker room with his name on it and walked inside.

"Well, hello there."

Fuck me, he thought, this is the last thing I need.

"What do you want, Saraya?"

"Well, I've been waiting for you to call me all weekend. God knows I left you plenty of messages but I've received nothing in return except a slap from Brie when I got here today. I thought we had a deal."

He shook his head and sat on the couch, "We do and I'm sorry about her doing that."

"So, what is the plan? Am I staying with you tonight and traveling with you?"

"I've been thinking about that. I know I said we should do it, but now, I just think a clean break would be good. I didn't tell Scarlett that I wanted to be with you and I don't want to pretend that I do. You go your way and I'll go mine."

"And I'll just be hated? No, that's not going to work."

"You're getting something for that hate. I'm going to put in a good word for you with Stephanie and you can come to Vegas in a few weeks and get your fucking bracelet. But other than that, I really don't want anything to do with you."

Her eyes sharpened, "And what happens if I decide to tell people the truth?"

He chuckled, "Don't know why you would. Then you'd get nothing and it'd be my word against yours and really…who'd believe you? I've destroyed my life. Why would I lie about sleeping with you if it did nothing but cause me heartache?"

"Why'd you lie then?"

"I have my reasons and they're not your concern or your fucking business. Now just get out of here and leave me in peace. Please."

She reluctantly got up and left but he heard her mumbling under her breath.

"Fucking crazy asshole…why'd I get myself into this…he could've at least fucked me once…"

The door shut behind her and he leaned back until his head rested on the couch, closing his eyes and trying to block out the rest of the world if only for a little while. Nick eventually found him to talk over their match. Jon tried to keep his tone light and friendly at first, but he quickly surmised that Nick knew all about the Scarlett situation and it was taking everything in his power to not beat the shit out of Jon. They kept things professional and got everything squared away and Nick shot up out of his chair to leave.

"Hey," Jon called, stopping the Showoff at the threshold of his door. All Nick did was glare at him.

"I'm sorry."

Nick opened his mouth, closed it again and then looked down before a small laugh escaped him.

"Unbelievable," he whispered.

He locked eyes with Jon once again.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to, you piece of shit."

Before Jon could speak again, he walked out, leaving the Lunatic Fringe in an even more desperate state of gloom. If this was Nick's attitude, he couldn't imagine what Joe and Colby, Brie and Bryan, John and Nikki or Glenn thought. They must all hate him and he deserved it. Welcomed it. They couldn't hate him more than he hated himself.

The time came for his match and he once again rushed through the halls, trying to avoid anyone who might want to kick the shit out of him. When he got to the gorilla, he wasn't shocked to not see Scarlett anywhere. Amanda was in charge and the look she gave him was scathing to say the least, but she'd learned from her boss well and treated him with icy professionalism. He nodded at her when she told him that he needed to be out of the ring as soon as possible and when she completely ignored him after that, he didn't mind. He knew it would be this way for a while. Everyone loved Scarlett and thought the world of her. Everyone would despise him and he understood and accepted it.

The match with Nick was brutal. Usually, the man the Universe loved and knew as Dolph Ziggler was so professional in the ring. Never a stiff shot, but when he threw a few punches and kicks on this evening, they hurt like fucking hell. He was putting Jon over because that's what the script called for, but he was going to make sure that Jon left with more than a few bruises. He shoved him into the corners with force and every time he slammed him to the mat, Jon had to be extra careful when landing so that he didn't concuss himself. In his mind, he wanted to give it all back to Nick but his heart wouldn't let him. Again, he deserved this. Deserved every kick and punch and hard hit.

After he hit Dirty Deeds and got the pin, he rolled out of the ring, hugging his ribs. He probably needed to go see a trainer but he wouldn't. He would suffer though in silence. He knew it didn't make anything better or atone for any of his actions, but it was the only payment he could give. The only thing he felt he could do to work off his debt. He hobbled to his locker room and packed his stuff quickly before making his way to the parking garage. He just wanted to go to the hotel and put ice on his ribs and go into what he knew would be a fitful, nightmarish sleep. He saw his car and relief flooded his brain, but that was only momentary.

There were six people standing around his car and every single one of them had murderous intent in their eyes.

His head fell and his feet shuffled forward of their own volition. His brain screamed at him to turn and run, to save himself, but he knew there was nowhere he could run. Nowhere he could hide that would save him from the wrath and fury of the people in front of him. He finally made it closer until he stood but four feet from them. He didn't do or say anything but his eyes trained on Scarlett's best friend, who came forward until she stood face-to-face with him. Brie said nothing at first, but she searched his face and eyes for something. He didn't know what she was looking for. All he could do was try to convey his sorrow through his thoughts. He couldn't say anything in his defense because there was nothing to defend himself with. Again, he deserved this.

The slap she gave him a moment later cracked though the cavernous garage and he felt the sting long after her hand had lost contact with his face. Her finger stayed in his face though, pointing at him as if to show all his flaws.

"How dare you show yourself here? Do you have any idea what you've done? Any concept of what you've brought on?"

He nodded slowly, eyes never leaving hers. A cloudy mist took her brown orbs.

"Scarlett, not that you deserve to know, has been curled up in my guest room for the last five days. Everytime I see her, she's wrapped into a little ball and she's crying. Wailing because of you. She doesn't eat or drink. She barely sleeps and when she does, she wakes up every time- every fucking time- screaming because of a horrendous nightmare. She is broken. Absolutely fucking broken and gutted and you did this to her. And I swear to god, Jon, I will not stop making your life a living fucking hell. Not for a really long time."

She slapped him one more time for good measure and then started to walk away. Nikki came up then and slapped the other side of his face. He did nothing but meet her gaze.

"I told you to take care of her, you fucking douchebag. You deserve every beating you're going to get in the ring. Don't even think about contacting her or I'll kill you. Do you understand me?"

He again just nodded. That's all he could do. Nikki walked away and Bryan- sweet, peaceful Bryan who'd never hurt a fly- walked up and punched him square in the jaw. Jon went down to one knee and shook his head to clear out the cobwebs before standing once again.

"You disgust me. I don't know what the McMahons are doing having you win Money in the Bank but I can guarantee you that match is going to hurt you a lot worse than any of the rest of us."

His opponents for that match were Nick, Bryan, Joe, Colby and John. They all had reason to hate his guts and he knew that he was going to walk out of the pay-per-view in Phoenix injured. If he walked out at all. Bryan stepped around and he and the twins left, talking amongst themselves about how much they hated him.

That left only three.

Glenn was next and he stepped up to Jon, towering over him menacingly. The man had a good half-foot on Jon and he used it, glaring at him for a while before slowly speaking.

"The only reason I was out here was to make sure the girls didn't kill you like they wanted to earlier. Someone had to keep a level head. Now that they're gone, I'm leaving too but you should know that I'm going to do everything in my power to get you thrown out of this company. I don't care if it takes months or even years, but it will happen. I'll make sure of it. You deserve to be miserable and unhappy just like you made her. I saw her this weekend and what Brie said was the good version. I've never seen her like that, not even after that other asshole cheated on her. You had it all, Jon, and I don't know why you did this, but you are going to spend the rest of your days paying for it. I promise you that."

He walked forward at that point, shoving Jon out of the way with his massive frame, and didn't look back. Jon could feel his emotions starting to get the better of him. He'd tried to block it all out and just become numb but as he stepped back up and looked at the two people left, he felt his eyes mist over as their disapproval and disgust rolled off in waves.

His brothers.

They hadn't even done or said anything- hadn't even moved- but he felt himself shrinking down under the pressure. Colby made the first move and as he got closer, Jon saw the emotion in the younger man's face. He could see the warring emotions: anger, hurt, disappointment, sadness, confusion. Colby's jaw was set but his eyes were just as teary as Jon's. His tears were like traitors. Jon could tell he just wanted to be insanely irate but he didn't understand any of this. The two-toned warrior took a deep breath before speaking.

"Do you have anything to say?"

Jon wanted to tell them the truth. He desperately wanted to but he was stuck still. He couldn't say anything, nothing that would make them feel better. He instead went with the only phrase that he could.

"I'm sorry."

Colby stared at him for a long while, "Is that it?"

Jon slowly nodded.

"Well, that's not fucking good enough."

Jon warily shook his head, "There's nothing I can say or do to make this better. I fucked up. I royally fucked everything up and I know there's no coming back. There's nothing else I can do."

"You can tell us why."

"No, I can't."

It was then that Colby's rage took control and he shoved Jon backwards until he had him pressed up against the wall.

"Yes, you can, motherfucker! You wouldn't tell Scarlett, but you are sure as fuck going to tell us! Why did you fucking do this?"

The tears flowed freely then. He couldn't help himself.

"I don't know, brother."

Colby released him with a push against the wall and took a step back, pointing a finger in Jon's face.

"Don't fucking call me that. I am not your fucking brother and you aren't my family. You're aren't my friend and I don't want anything to do with you. I don't want to be near you and I don't want you anywhere near me or those I care about. If you try to talk to Scarlett when she comes back, I'm with Nikki. I'll kill you. I don't know why you did this, but I hope you're happy with the destruction you've caused. Because it's all you got left. You have no friends, no family, nobody! And you won't have them either. If you think we're just going to forget about this in a few months, you're fucking wrong. I'll never forgive you for doing this to her. You should've seen her, man. I walked into that bedroom and she couldn't even say anything because she was crying so hard. I picked her up and she clung to me like a fucking life-preserver, like if she didn't hold onto something, she would fall away. I've never seen anybody more wrecked in my life. She's in so much pain and I hate you for it. You deserve to be the one in misery, not her!"

Jon thought his guilt and depression couldn't grow any greater, but hearing his best friend- well, former best friend now- describe the state of the girl he loved was like repeated kicks to the stomach. He was having trouble breathing and he realized his tears were actually choking him up, making him gasp for air. Colby didn't care though. He felt sickened by his former brother. He wanted to punch him. Wanted to kick him in his fucking teeth, but he didn't. He just turned around and walked away, leaving Jon in an even worse state. He wanted the punishment. He wanted them to take their ire out on him. He'd rather have their fists pounding into him than their words. Their words hurt so much more.

Only one remained and that one did something that surprised Jon. He grabbed Jon's suitcase and propped it up on the car, opening and rooting though it, obviously searching for something. He found what he wanted after a few moments and when he did, a rueful smile appeared on his chiseled face. Turning towards the broken man leaning against the wall, the smile fell and he stalked up. His hand opened and Jon saw what he'd found in his bag.

It was the engagement ring.

He still had it in his possession, couldn't part with it. He knew it was pointless to hold onto it now, but something in him wouldn't return it. It was the promise of the future he wanted. A future that he had shattered along with his heart and hers. Now, there was nothing of that future but broken red-stained glass.

Joe stared at him, "What the fuck was this about then?"

"Joe, don't do this."

"Did you even really want to marry her?"

"You know I did."

The big Samoan smirked at him, "No, Jon, I don't. I don't know anything about you anymore. This guy standing in front of me is a fucking stranger and not one that I want to get to know. You are a despicable son of a bitch and, like Col said, you are not my family anymore. You're not my brother and I don't want anything to do with you. You know what the saddest part of seeing Scarlett was? When I was alone with her, after she woke up screaming from one of her nightmares, she started trying to justify your actions. She loves you so much, still loves you, and she was trying to talk herself into believing that you didn't betray her. That you must've had a damn good reason for sleeping with that fucking whore."

Joe's anger was palpable, but he was trying to keep himself into control. His eyes got misty too as he struggled to say the next sentence.

"She looked at me and asked me if I believed that was what you did. And I wanted to tell her that lie. I wanted to see her smile again and tell her that you really did love her and that you must've had a perfectly good excuse to cheat. But I couldn't. It broke my heart to do it, but I couldn't lie to her and when I told her that, her face…goddammit, Jon. I fucking hate you too and I hope you feel ten times worse than she does and if you do, even that's not enough. Now get the fuck out of here before I do something I might regret."

Jon didn't say anything, but simply walked past Joe toward his bags. He needed to close the one and get the fuck out of there. He had almost reached his bag when something whizzed past his head. It pinged off his suitcase and fell to the ground. He turned around but Joe was already making his way back into the arena. He faced back around and looked down. It was the engagement ring. He leaned down and grasped it in his large hand. Opening it, he stared at the beautiful piece of jewelry and the sign of his true and heartfelt commitment to Scarlett. The tears were pouring out of him now and he couldn't- didn't even try to- get them to stop. He put the box carefully back into his bag, zipped it close and got everything into the car. He slid into the front seat and went to start the car, but stopped when he looked at himself in the rearview. Or what he thought was himself. He couldn't make out his reflection because tears were completely obscuring his view. He wiped them away but fresh ones immediately took their place. He gave in then, totally surrendering himself to the agony of his physical and emotional state. He cried for what felt like hours and he didn't try to block out the words and faces of his former friends. He let their comments flow through him and wallowed in his self-hatred. He would have to face this everyday and he knew he had to get tougher or he'd never make it though. But not right now. He let it all wash though him. He deserved it, after all.

*********khan*********

Yep, tears. I'm really proud of this chapter actually. Feel like it could be the best one yet. Maybe taking these past two weeks was a good thing. I promise you that the next one will be up within a few days. I'll try to never keep you waiting that long ever again. I hope to hear from all of you, XOXO


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